


Love in a Blue and Green Corner

by thecheshirepussycat



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Boxing, Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, American AU, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Romance, high school sweethearts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-05-13 19:00:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14754458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecheshirepussycat/pseuds/thecheshirepussycat
Summary: Harry Styles is an amateur boxer living with his high school sweetheart, Louis Tomlinson, both of them trying to pay the bills and realize their dreams. A lot changes when Harry gets a shot at going pro and living the high life, giving Louis a chance to live a dream he never knew he had. Through all of the hectic new things coming their way, the one thing they can always count on to stay strong is the love they have for each other.It’s the Boxer!Harry au you all have been waiting for :)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> And so we begin! There is no set posting schedule for this, just as I finish and edit new chapters :)

Louis walks right into the mostly empty science room, ready to just get this detention over with, and nearly trips over some stray cords by the front desk. Nice science-room safety-policy following guys. He signs his name on the roll list, watches as the attending teacher barely nods his acknowledgement, and quickly makes his way to the back corner of the classroom, away from the other four heathens already blankly staring and waiting for this to end. He’s managed to go almost all four years of high school without landing in here, and now with just one more semester in his senior year, his big mouth finally caught up to him.

There’s a girl in knockoff designer clothes, texting and popping very impressively sized bubble gum bubbles. Louis is pretty sure she’s there for multiple tardies this week, as she is definitely one of the ‘15 minutes late with Starbucks’ girls. He doesn’t blame her for that because school really does start far too early for actual learning. Two of the boys are wearing jackets that tell Louis they are on the basketball team and he honestly doesn’t care to think about why they are in detention, because they aren’t the nicest boys in school. The fourth person joining him on this lovely day in detention is a messy looking boy with dirty hair and dark circles under his eyes, body smelling distinctly of weed when Louis walks by.

He crinkles his nose and looks away, plopping down in the back corner like he intended, brushes off his red pants, and opens his magazine. He’d picked up a Vogue last night, with Cara Delevigne on the cover, and is happy to have something full of pretty things to distract him from his miserable afternoon. He’s just thinking about how he shouldn’t even be here the door swings open at the front of the room.

A boy walks in.

He’s in Louis’ year but Louis has never spoken to him. He’s definitely seen the boy walking in the halls or using the weights in the gym after class, and yes he is completely beautiful. Louis would have to be blind to not notice just how fucking hot this boy is. His brown hair is pulled up in a small ponytail on top of his head, curling at the ends, he is looking away from Louis for now. He’s wearing a grey sweater with holes on the elbows and _tight_ black skinny jeans that leave pretty much nothing to Louis’ young and hormonal mind. The boy says something to the teacher which makes her scoff and roll her eyes, and he turns around with a big smirk on his face.

His stupid gorgeous face complete with big, emerald green eyes, adorable dimples, and plump, pink lips. And _oh god_ he is looking right at Louis while he openly stares at this boy’s _everything_ , and oh god even _more_ because he’s noticed and is now walking straight toward Louis.

Oh shit.

Louis blushes and directs his eyes back down to the mag. He has no idea what he is actually looking at because all his mind can focus on is the fact that this very hot boy is now sitting right next him in their own secluded section of the room. Louis knows the boy is staring, he can feel those eyes on him every second. Finally, probably after a full minute of this awkward tension, Louis peaks up at the boy.

“Um, hello?” Louis sort of asks when he looks into those dreamy eyes.

The smirk from earlier is still firmly planted on this hottie’s face and yet Louis isn’t annoyed. The boy drops the smirk into a soft, almost fond smile, and says, “Sorry ‘bout the staring, just never seen you in here before.”

“Oh,” Louis says, eyes losing their blindness caused by the boy’s beauty as he notices the bruise on the boy’s cheek. “No, I’ve never had detention before. I’m generally a good boy.”

“I bet,” Boy says mostly under his breath. “I’m Harry, and you?”

“Louis,” He says, holding out his hand for Harry to shake. The moment their hands touch Louis feels how big and warm Harry’s are, but the teacher interrupts the moment with a loud _shush_.

“Oops,” Harry mumbles, dropping Louis’ hand and leaning back in his seat. She glares at the two of them and then darts her eyes down to the very thick and dusty book in her hands.

A quiet moment passes between the two of them where Harry makes himself comfortable in the cramped desk seat and Louis puts his copy of Vogue away. He taps his fingers on the desk, mimicking a little song he has to learn on the piano, and shyly looks back over at Harry, biting his bottom lip. He stares at the bruise and frowns a little, wondering what happened. Perhaps it has to do with why Harry is in detention. “Hi… do you mind me asking something?”

“Sure thing,” Harry whispers, scooting the desk closer to Louis so they can talk without getting in trouble. “Pretty thing like you can ask me anything he wants.”

“Where, um, how did you get that bruise?” Louis asks nervously, blushing at the comment.

“Got in a fight during eighth period,” Harry shrugs. He laughs a bit when Louis’ eyes get suddenly very wide. “Don’t worry, you should see the other guy.”

Louis fish mouths for a moment, not sure how to respond to that. Harry seems so relaxed for someone who just got in a fight. “And that’s why you’re here?”

“Yup,” Harry nods. “Not as serious as it sounds though, because we both only got a couple hits in.”

“Can I ask why?”

Harry shrugs again. “Yeah, well I’d seen him giving some freshman grief in the halls right before class, and I politely told him to leave the kid alone. Apparently bullying kids because they’re a bit nerdy and skinny is this guy’s favorite activity, because he didn’t like my nice request. Called me a fag so I punched him, and he _barely_ punched me, I hit him one more time and broke his nose, and here we are.”

Louis’ mouth drops open. “Oh my god. You broke his nose?”

“Well barely…it was bleeding a little and I heard a crack when I punched him, but I still think he was being dramatic. A broken nose actually doesn’t hurt as much as people think.” Harry explains.

“I suppose you’ve had a lot then?” Louis asks.

Again Harry just shrugs. “Shit happens.”

“You like fighting?”

“Sort of,” Harry starts, then stops and leans in close to Louis. “Sorry, I’m sure I sound like a right idiot. I don’t fight just anyone, is what I mean. I box, like the sport? I’ve been doing it since I was fourteen and awkward and getting bullied all the time. Dad thought it was a good way to keep bullies away, and it turns out I’ve got a real talent for it. Usually I fight in a ring with other guys who know what they’re doing. In fact, I train at this great gym in Manhattan. Today was just a fluke.”

Louis nods, feeling a lot less tense about the whole fighting thing. “I guess that makes sense. Though I never really understood why people would punch each other for sport.”

Harry softly laughs. “Well, I guess it’s a testament to human beings’ natural barbarianism.”

Louis stares, almost about to laugh out loud when he says, “Um, what?”

“I’m joking Louis,” Harry giggles. “Like I said, I did it because I was getting bullied and I wanted to learn to be tough. Now it’s just a high contact sport to me.”

“High contact sport,” Louis repeats slowly, letting out a breathless laugh. “I guess that’s a very loose summary of boxing. But the real question is, do you get in school fights a lot, Rocky?”

“I suppose there’s been a few stray fights here in this lovely school, but all of them go the same for me,” Harry says, once again smiling that beautiful smile with adorable pearly white teeth. “I only try to stand up for the little guy.”

“Well that’s very kind,” Louis coos, voice soft as a dove. “Not so scary after all, for someone who, I’m guessing, frequents detention, considering your little exchange with Ms. Knox.”

“She and I have a very volatile relationship, as you can see.  I try my best to charm her, but to no avail,” Harry smirks, sending a wink up to her even though she isn’t paying attention.

“Oh what a shame,” Louis says, biting down a crinkly-eyed smile with his sharp teeth. “You are quite charming, I would say.”

“Why thank you,” Harry hums. He leans in a bit closer, enough to have his fingers touch Louis’ forearm which is resting on the desk. He rubs the backs of his fingers on Louis’ soft, tan skin, and feels the goosebumps form on his arm. “Now, what’s a pretty thing like you doing in here? You’re too sweet to be in with these villains.”

Louis snorts. “Hardly villains, Rocky Balboa. We’re all just dumb kids. This particular dumb kid is in here because he talked back to his stupid History teacher, who decided his essay on how Alexander Hamilton was very much in love with his friend John Laurens was ‘inaccurate’. Ridiculous, really. You should see the letters they wrote each other. Not even _I_ am that gay.”

“Oh my,” Harry laughs, loud enough to get shushed by Ms. Knox again. He flashes her his best bright smile and a small wave, to which she responds with a roll of her eyes. She looks up at the clock and her face falls as if all of life is completely unfair. There’s still forty-five minutes left in detention. Harry directs his attention back to Louis. “You really think they were in love?”

“Of course! The things they wrote were so romantic, and so… _erotic_. It’s a shame Laurens didn’t survive the war so they could be together again,” Louis sighs dreamily.

“Are you a fan of romance?”

“Definitely.” Louis says, cheeks tinged with pink.

“Me too.” Harry responds, licking his lips.

Half an hour goes by of the two of them whispering to each other, and lightly flirting and Louis can’t say he has ever felt more attracted to anyone in his life. Harry would say the same. It gets to the point where their desks are pushed together and their feet are intertwined underneath, Harry’s muscled arm wrapped around the back of Louis’ chair. When Louis takes out his phone to show Harry pictures of his little sisters, their faces get so close their cheeks nearly touch. The entire thing is so hot and makes Louis’ heart beat so fast, and he is getting so turned on just being near Harry.

Fifteen minutes early, the teacher sighs and stands up, clapping her hands together. “Alright kids, I’m letting you go early because Spring Break is next week and frankly I don’t want to be here either. Behave tomorrow so you don’t have to take up my time again and we can have a nice weekend.”

Everyone quickly packs up their things and practically runs out of the room, except Harry and Louis who take their time. Harry, like the perfect gentleman that he is, helps Louis out of his seat and even offers to carry his books, but Louis declines.

“You know,” Louis says, stopping right outside the classroom door. The teacher walks by them and closes the door behind, so Harry pulls Louis aside to the row of lockers. Louis watches her walk away before he continues, “My family isn’t expecting me home until after 3:30, and it’s only 3:15… any ideas for wasting some time?”

That smirk from earlier finds its way back onto Harry’s pretty lips. “I think I have an idea.”

 

Next thing Louis knows, he’s perched on top of the counter in the boy’s restroom, Harry standing between his legs, with his mouth on Louis’ neck. Louis’ whimpering as his hands clutch tightly onto Harry’s shoulders, and he ruts himself against Harry’s midsection. They’ve been in here making out for about five minutes and Louis is already so hard and hot, loving the way Harry’s big hands feel on his tiny waist.

Louis whines when Harry bites into his neck, creating a round purple bruise in the skin, marking his new place on Louis. He gasps when Harry licks the mark, and barely gets out a question of, “Wh-what’s your last name?”

Harry pulls back for a moment, leaning his head up to kiss Louis’ lips, and he whispers into them, “Styles, ‘m Harry Styles.”

“Ha,” Louis breathlessly laughs. “Sound like a fucking popstar.”

“It’s quite a name,” Harry says, kissing Louis’ cheeks and moving his hands around to Louis’ back. “And you?”

“Louis Tomlinson,” He moans, slipping his arms up behind Harry’s neck, crossing his wrists as they passionately kiss. They fit together so perfectly and Harry’s mouth is so warm and wet, and Louis just knows this is the start of something beautiful.

“Sounds like a Prince.”

“Then maybe you should treat me like one,” Louis says with a sweet smirk.

Harry laughs, and kisses Louis’ nose. “Nice to meet you Louis Tomlinson.”

 

At around 3:45, the two boys emerge from the bathroom, disheveled but sated, hanging off each other in complete bliss. Harry places a sweet kiss on Louis’ cheek as they take each other’s hands and walk down the hall to the exit.

When they get there they realize it’s raining pretty hard and if there was anything that was going to ruin Louis’ new good mood, this is it. He has to walk home, is the thing, and while his house isn’t that far, he’d still rather not get soaking wet. So Louis sighs and shoves all of his books into his backpack, looking up at Harry with a light smile. “Well, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow? I hope?”

“Of course, do you have a ride?” Harry asks, taking his hair out of the ponytail. It’s so curly and reaches just past his chin.

“Nope, but my house isn’t far.” Louis shrugs.

“Oh Baby, you shouldn’t’ have to walk in this rain,” Harry pouts. Louis shudders at the pet name. “Let me take you home.”

“Harry, you don’t have to take me home,” Louis says, smiling at the offer. “I’ll be fine.”

“No, no, no I insist. It’ll be fun,” Harry urges, taking Louis’ hand once again. “Ever ridden a motorcycle?”

Louis’ smile turns up into an excited grin, “No. Oh my god, you drive a motorcycle?”

“Yup, been learning since I was sixteen and my mom surprised me with one on my eighteenth birthday this year. I’ve got an extra helmet and everything, if you want?”

“Oh gosh,” Louis giggles. “I would actually love that.”

“Had a feeling you would, come on Babe,” Harry says, directing Louis to the parking lot. The bike is waiting at the very front of the lot, little rain droplets covering the seats. Harry rushes them both over and pulls out a sparkly gold helmet from his bag, he places it on his head, and then grabs a silver sparkly helmet from the back of the bike, handing it to Louis. “For you good sir.”

“You are too kind, young man,” Louis says with a mock accent. He clips the helmet on and secures his bag straps over his shoulders while Harry gets on the bike. Louis swings his legs over and scoots forward so he’s right against Harry’s back, wrapping his arms and locking his hands on Harry’s front. “I’m a bit nervous, honestly.”

“It’s okay, I’ve got you, just hold on tight,” Harry mumbles back, starting up the engine. He revs it a couple times before kicking off and zooming out of the lot. Louis tightens his hands even more and rests his cheek against Harry’s damp shoulder, whispering the directions home into Harry’s ear. Definitely the start of something beautiful.

+

**_~ Eight Years Later ~_ **

The less than average flat that Harry Styles has been living in with his boyfriend, is colder than usual. He chalks it up to his own body temperature being off, because of how much he sweat during training. All the lights are off and the tiny room is as quiet as a mouse, which considering the late hour, it would be no surprise to Harry that his boyfriend is already in bed.

He drops his duffel bag on the armchair, like usual, and takes off his sweater and shoes and leaves them on the floor outside the bedroom. It’s his nightly routine. Harry slowly opens the door to their room and tip-toes inside, eyes adjusting to the dark, and can see his lover in the middle of the bed. “Sweetheart? Lou, you still awake?”

“ _Hmmm_ ,” Louis hums, squirming slightly on the bed. “Nope.”

“Huh,” Harry chuckles, sitting on the edge. He takes off his gym shorts and removes the bun from his hair, letting the long brown curls drape over his shoulders. “Budge over, yeah? ‘M cold. why’s it so cold?”

Louis yawns and rolls over so he is looking at Harry’s back. “Heating’s out again.”

“Shit,” Harry groans, hands rubbing down his face with frustration. “ _God_ , I-I am so _sorry_. Fuck!”

Louis is up in a second, because he knew Harry would react this way. “Hey, Baby, stop. This isn’t your fault. It’s okay!”

“No it’s not!” Harry snaps, standing up from the bed and running his hands through his hair. “I pay for that! This is _my_ fault, god, h-how could I forget, oh _Lou_ —”

“Haz!” Louis cuts in, kneeling on the bed and grabbing Harry by his hips. “It’s _fine_. Shit happens.”

“But I was supposed to pay,” Harry says. He covers his eyes with his hands and starts to take deep breaths. “It’s _November_ , Louis. Winter has pretty much already started, and I let the heating go out _again_. I’m a fuck up and I’m sorry.”

“ _Honey_ , I-I’m not mad, nor am I blaming you,” Louis sighs up at Harry. “You’ve got a fight tomorrow, and you’ll get paid win or lose, and we will pay the late fee. It’s all going to be fine.”

“How can you be so calm about this?” Harry asks. “You should be yelling at me.”

“I would never yell over something like this, I’d never yell about anything,” Louis says sweetly. He pulls gently at Harry’s hips until the man is on the bed with him. Louis sits back down and opens his legs, letting Harry kneel between them. “I know you’re trying your best to make your dreams come true, and I’ve wanted that for you since we met. Since we were eighteen and still getting put in detention for stupid things, remember?”

Oh yes, Harry definitely remembers how they met. It was their senior year of high school and he’d gotten put in detention for the millionth time for fighting. Then there was Louis. It was his first and only detention. Louis was by far the prettiest boy Harry had ever seen in his life, and within only a minute of meeting him, Harry knew he would want nobody but him. Harry would find himself in detention a few more times for the rest of the year, all because of fights to defend Louis.

“Yeah, I remember like it was yesterday,” Harry sighs dreamily. “You were in those _tight_ red pants, lookin’ like a twink straight from heaven.”

“Shut up,” Louis giggles. “Point is, you told me that day it was your dream to be a champ, and I have supported you every day since.”

“But I can’t just pile all the bills on you, Sweetheart,” Harry says. “Bartending for Niall is only bringing in so much from you.”

“He pays me fairly, Haz,” Louis says. He brings his hands to Harry’s cheeks and places a kiss on his nose. “And you know, once the fight is over, and all of our stress is satisfied for another month, we can come back here and you can fuck my brains out.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Harry moans, grinding his hips down onto Louis’. “Louis Tomlinson you do not play fair.”

“’S been a week since you’ve been properly inside me, Baby. I miss you,” Louis says with a pout. “I’ve hardly the patience to play fair.”

“I hate Liam for keeping me so long like this,” Harry says shortly. “Honestly, how would he like it if I told him he had to stay at the gym six nights a week to train, instead of going home and fucking his hot wife?”

“Marci told me how Liam stays even later than you guys, and she will go days without seeing him, so I think Liam does sort of understand your pain,” Louis says matter of factly.

“He’s still a bastard,” Harry grunts.

“I take it training was rough today?” Louis asks.

“Training is fine, Liam is rough,” Harry sighs. “You know how he gets before a fight.”

“Oh, I know,” Louis says. “And you know he’s only hard on you because he believes in you.”

“Don’t know how he hasn’t lost faith in me yet. I’m nowhere close to getting sponsorship, or a title, and I don’t exactly have a perfect record,” Harry says dejectedly.

“Honey you’ve been on a winning streak for almost three years now. It’s been long enough since you’ve lost,” Louis says, rolling his eyes at Harry’s melodramatic tone. “Besides that you’re young, and driven, and talented. Liam knows what he’s doing and he knows you,” Louis says. He lets go of Harry, pulls the covers over them, letting Harry wrap around his body. “Now lie down Rocky, let’s just sleep now. You have to rest up for the fight.”

Harry sighs into Louis’ neck, petting up and down his tummy. He lives for Louis’ gentle encouragement, and the way he can just calm all of Harry’s nerves with very few words. “Are you going to come?”

“Of course I am,” Louis says with a yawn. “You know you need me in your corner.”

“You’re so right, and one day I promise it will be the Champ’s corner,” Harry mumbles. They’re both asleep in minutes.


	2. Chapter One

Another hard blow gets Harry right in the side, and probably bruises a couple ribs. He dodges the next punch and escapes to the other end of the ring. With his forearm, Harry wipes some sweat off his brow and a few stray pieces of hair out of his eyes. He quickly gets back into a fighting stance, because his opponent is advancing on him again.

This guy is huge, like almost too big to even be in Harry’s weight class, but he’s here and Harry has to fight him. The heating bill depends on it.

It’s the seventh round and usually by now Harry is doing a lot better. The stress and the pressure of knowing that he let his house go cold, and that Louis was stuck in there last night, is really getting him. He charges at his opponent, pummeling all his frustration into the man’s left side. Unfortunately, Harry forgets to set up his right hand to block, and he takes a hard punch to the jaw that sends him reeling into the ropes chest first. There’s no time to turn around before the man is attacking Harry’s already bruised ribs, making Harry scream out in pain.

“Oh my god,” Louis gasps, hiding his face in his hands. He’s got his friend, Niall Horan, at the fight with him, and thank god for him. Louis wouldn’t be able to get through this kind of fight without him. “Tell me if he gets off the ropes, Nialler.”

“Sure, Lou,” Niall says, throwing his arm around Louis’ shoulders. He tries to keep his reactions to the fight internalized, but he’s never seen Harry take a beating like this.

Somehow, Harry breaks free and is about to hit back, when the bell rings to end the round. Harry’s entire body is heaving as he lowers his fists and goes back to his corner. Liam is at him in seconds with a water bottle and a scornful frown.

“Harry! What the _fuck_ are you doing out there?” Liam yells, and yet still gets one of his hands on Harry’s shoulders to massage out the stress.

Harry spits his mouth guard out into Liam’s awaiting hand, and takes a long sip from the bottle. “Fighting someone obviously out of my weight class _, ahh_!” Harry cries out when Liam squeezes down particularly hard. He knows Harry isn’t being altogether truthful about what’s got him down. Harry sighs, “Heating’s out at home and we had to sleep in the freezing goddamn cold, okay?”

“ _Shit,_ ” Liam groans, letting up his grip on Harry’s shoulders. He knows how Harry gets when something like that happens, and it’s the worst kind of distraction. “Fuck, okay, use it! Take it all out on him!”

“I’m fucking trying, Li!” Harry yells back. “I’m dying out there!”

“Try harder! Finish this fight as best you can, win or lose, you go out and fight him,” Liam says, pushing Harry out of the stool. He gives Harry a shove when the bell rings again, and jumps down from the ropes. His eye catches Louis in the crowd, and he quickly calls him over. “Louis! Here, _now_!”

He doesn’t hear it initially, because his attention is fixed Harry on re-entering the fight. As soon as Louis sees Harry get the upper hand, he grabs Niall’s arm and drags him over to Liam. Harry’s trainer, coach, mentor, and best friend, Liam Payne, is a big man, only a couple years older than Louis and Harry. He’s got enough muscles to be his own successful boxer, but an old knee injury has him side-lined. He’s still very intimidating, especially now as Louis walks through the rowdy crowd towards him.

“Hi, Li,” Louis says, as sweet as possible to calm the obvious intensity in Liam’s eyes. “What’s going on tonight?”

“He’s freaking out because of the bills,” Liam sighs, noticing the way the color drains from Louis’ face. “Why didn’t either of you call me? I could have given a loan.”

“He would have said no, and you know it, _oh god_ ,” Louis gasps as he watches Harry take another blow to the jaw. “Is he going to lose?”

“Probably,” Liam grunts, hands gripping his own hips. He shakes his head at Harry’s fight, even though he knows Harry is doing the best he can under the circumstances. “Take care of him after this.”

“I always do,” Louis says, looking away from the fight again.

Just when it looks like Harry is about to last another round, when it looks like he’s going to match hits with his opponent, he loses his footing. As he falls, he tries to get one more swing to the man, but he’s taken down completely by a hit to his shoulder. “ _Ah!_ Shit!”

Louis grabs Niall’s bicep, almost falls over himself when he sees Harry hit the canvas. It’s been years since Harry lost a fight, and Louis even has only seen it in person one time. “Oh no.”

The ref enters the ring and counts down, ending the fight in the eighth round. Niall puts his arm around Louis’ shoulder and pulls him tight, whispering, “Hang in there, Lou.”

Louis nods, feeling Liam push past him to get into the ring. He looks up to see Liam pulling Harry from the ground, and he can see blood seeping from Harry’s lip, and a cut above Harry’s right eye. His pale skin is so damn beautiful, but bruises so easily, and it always looks worse than it is. Tonight, Harry’s left eye and cheek are swollen, he’s got painful purpling on his arms, chest, and sides. He turns and there’s a huge reddened area on his shoulder where the final blow landed. He limps out of the ring, but still smiles when he catches sight of Louis and Niall as he goes to the locker room with Liam.

The smile hardly calms Louis, even though he knows it’s Harry’s way of saying he’s okay. He’s not okay, though, and Louis knows that as soon as Harry is out of the public, he’s going to break down. Louis will definitely be there to help pick up the pieces. “Ni, we gotta get to the locker room.”

“Okay,” Niall agrees, following close behind Louis as they try to push through the audience. So many of the men, and a few women, are booing, hardly any cheering for the winner, and that makes Louis happy. He’s glad they were all rooting for Harry.

They hold up their ID’s to the security, who check a list and then let them past, directing the men to the left where Harry will be. Louis slowly pushes the door open and pokes his head inside, catching sight of Harry’s team. There’s Liam and two other men from the gym, as well as a physician cleaning up Harry’s face. They’re completely silent, except for Liam murmuring to the other boxers, and occasional hisses of pain from Harry.

After a few moments of looking, Louis pushes the door open all the way, knocking on it gently. “Hey guys.”

“Lou, Sweetheart,” Harry moans, smiling through the deep swelling on his face. The loss and shame are written clearly in his eyes, no matter what else he wants to portray. “I’m sorry you have to see me like this.”

“I’ve seen you like this plenty of times, Honey,” Louis says, walking over to plant a kiss to Harry’s non-injured cheek.

“I’m a loser this time,” Harry mumbles, frowning at the ground.

Louis bites his lip, bringing one of his hands up to Harry’s cheek, and gently rubs across it with his thumb. “You’re not a loser, my love. One fight isn’t the end of the world.”

“It’s my third loss.”

“The other two were years ago,” Louis sighs, kissing Harry’s temple as he remembers their discussion from last night. He turns and looks over his shoulder at Liam worriedly. “What’s wrong with you, then?”

Liam shrugs, quietly tells the other men to give them the room, and crosses his arms over his chest as they leave. He joins Harry sitting on the bench, the physician backing away to clean up his materials, and Liam leans forward with his elbows on his knees. “Why didn’t you two tell me about the heating bill? And before you say anything! I am not asking as Harry’s coach; I’m asking as your friend.”

Louis and Harry look at each other for a moment, and it is Louis who finally decides to answer. “I told you, there was no point in getting you worked up over it. And now, even with a loss, we’ll have enough to pay and get it up and going again.”

“You didn’t need to get it off in the first place. Marci and I are a phone call away,” Liam sighs, frustrated. “Hell, I’m sure Niall here would have given you a loan too!”

“I would have—”

“I can keep my own home running,” Harry grunts, wincing at the ache in his jaw.

“Harry,” Louis whines. He knows why Harry is like this, he knows it’s a fighter’s pride that makes Harry so hesitant to ask or help. In his own mind, Louis doesn’t know why he himself never reaches out for help, maybe he’s a little prideful too. They’re both waiting for success to come so they can be truly independent. “Liam, it’s done. We can pay, and this won’t be a problem anymore. The fight wasn’t that bad! He went almost a full eight rounds, and that counts for something.”

“I could have taken him out, I know it. Now look at me,” Harry groans. He finally looks up at Louis again, squinting through his black eye. “I’m a fucking mess.”

“Yeah, but you’re my fucking mess,” Louis says with a playful smirk. “I still think you’re beautiful, bruises and all.”

“Thanks, Baby,” Harry says, pulling Louis’ hand away from his face to give it a kiss. “I feel like shit.”

“Don’t Hazza,” Louis pouts, sitting on Harry’s other side. He slowly moves his hand up and down Harry’s arm, caressing his muscles with his little fingers. “You’re still my big, strong man. You’ll rest up and recover, go back to training, and learn from any mistakes.” Then, Louis leans in close to Harry’s ear, murmuring just quiet enough for only Harry to hear, “Get a good night’s rest, and maybe I’ll ride you in the morning, yeah?”

Harry has to suppress a moan, eyes shutting as he takes in a long, deep breath. “ _Sweetheart_ , don’t make me think about that here.”

“Damn, you two are the worst,” Liam scoffs, shaking his head at their cuddly nature. “Louis is right, though, there’s nothing we can do about the fight now, but I want you at the gym by tomorrow mor—”

“He’ll be busy in the morning,” Louis quips with a quick kiss to Harry’s cheek.

“— _Gross,_ ” Liam cringes. After all these years he should be used to them, but Louis and Harry’s openly flirtatious relationship can be…nauseatingly annoying. “Fine, be at the gym tomorrow by noon, and we’ll talk more about how to proceed.”

“Sure, Li,” Harry agrees, taking Louis’ hand in his, lacing their fingers together. He then looks up at the physician, who has just finished packing up his things. “How do I look, Doc? Time for a hospital visit?”

“No need, unless you are in more pain than you claimed, but with rest and minimal strain, you can be back to regular training in a month. Try yoga or swimming, cardio if you are feeling restless, in the meantime, take it easy.”

“Thanks Doc,” Louis says with a sweet smile. “I promise I won’t let him strain himself,” he stands up, and starts to pull Harry up with him, but Liam quickly stops them both. “Li, come _on_.”

“I need him for just one more moment, okay Louis?” Liam asks pointedly. “I want to talk just the two of us.”

Before Louis can answer or try to argue, Niall steps in and pulls him back by his elbow. “Come here, we’ll wait outside, yeah? I wanna talk to you about something too.”

“ _Fine_ , but don’t keep him too long. You’ve had him all week,” Louis huffs as he lets Niall pull him out of the locker room, and they close the door after the physician follows. Louis leans with his arms crossed against the bare wall next to the locker room, looking at Niall expectantly. “Alright, what’s up with you?”

“It’s good news for you, so you can put away that _adorable_ frown,” Niall smirks, placing his hands on Louis’ cheeks. They’ve been friends for a couple years, ever since Louis got his bartending license, and started out work at Niall’s pub. “Evan just quit. He’s moving out of town, and that means I need a new lead bartender…”

“Oh my god,” Louis starts, eyes widening with his excitement. “And, I-I’m…I’ve got the job?”

“Yes,” Niall says, jumping back when Louis squeals happily. “And I haven’t even told you the best part yet.”

“Oh, and what could that be?”

“You are going to get a 60% pay raise!” Niall says with the biggest smile. “Perks of being the owner and not have to get someone new, I save myself money and a headache, and yet you still get one hell of a raise. Just come in for the lunch shift tomorrow and we can work on the promotion paperwork.”

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Louis chants, kissing Niall’s cheek between each statement. He’s so happy he could cry, and almost does as he chokes back tears. “You have no idea how much that will help me!”

“Actually, I do,” Niall says, slowly pulling away. “You didn’t tell me about the heating bill either.”

Louis rolls his eyes, “Honestly not you too. Harry and I are doing fine. This month was only a little short.”

“I’m not going to push you,” Niall assures him. “But you’re practically my brother, and I’m not one to let family suffer.”

“Not suffering, just in need of a little extra layers for the next couple days,” Louis says.

There’s a tap on Niall’s shoulder, and he moves out of the way to reveal a tall man in a black suit, holding a check in his hands. “You’re the one with Styles, right?”

Louis nods, and holds out his hand to take the check. “Yes, this his pay?”

“Mhm, and put an extra grand in too,” the man says with a tight, conceited smirk. “A curtesy to remember when he blows up.”

Louis frowns, but says nothing until the man walks away. “But, um, he lost?”

 

 

Liam stands up and follows Louis and Niall to the door, shaking the physician’s hand before he goes. He places both hands on the door, leaning all his weight on it. His behavior makes Harry nervous, because he can’t read whether what Liam wants to talk about is good or not. Then after a moment of silence, Liam pushes himself off the door, and stares at Harry with another unreadable face.

“You know Ricky Cortez?” Liam asks, voice staying even.

“You’re kidding, right?” Harry laughs. “Uh, not personally. But I think I know who one of the former Middleweight Champions is.”

“Good,” Liam nods. “What I’m about to say may sound strange, but just go with it.”

“Sure,” Harry muses, not able to help the cocky smirk that forms on his lips.

“Well, he wants to try for the champ title again, but he’s going to have to go through several other people, and one of those will be an amateur. The first one, actually,” He continues, hands moving to his hips, but his stance is just to hide his nerves. “He’s been checking records, faces, and names, and as it turns out…you would be the most commercially appealing.”

“Commercially appealing…what does that even mean?” Harry asks, still rather unimpressed.

“Um,” Liam clears his throat, and looks anywhere but Harry’s eyes. “Your name sounds like a fucking pop-star, despite tonight you have an excellent record, you’re… _objectively_ attractive, and, um, you are gay.”

Harry can’t help but burst out in laughter at that last part, but it quickly stops once the pain from the fight kicks in. “He— _ow_ —he wants to fight me because I’m pretty and gay? Seems homophobic.”

“No, he—would you take this seriously?” Liam groans. “He wants to fight you, because someone like you would bring in the most attention. And, other than that, I’m talking about a shot at an official professional fight! That is your dream, after all.”

“Yeah, I get that, but I don’t want to do some one off fight, all because some prick think’s I’ll get it a little attention,” Harry scoffs, shrugging apathetically. “I want to really earn my pro fight.”

“You would be earning it, though,” Liam sighs. He walks back to the bench and plops himself down, placing a strong hand on Harry’s shoulder. He couldn’t look more like Harry’s dad if he tried. “He wouldn’t have picked you if you were a shit boxer. And if you win…Harry, if you win you would take his place on the way to fighting for the championship.”

Harry quickly looks up at Liam from that, disbelieving frown creasing his brow. “How would that work?”

“That’s the contract I negotiated. It wouldn’t make sense for you to win and then disappear, you know.”

“Holy shit,” Harry says. Liam’s words finally crack through Harry’s thick head, and he realizes what this offer is. It’s a shot at his dreams. It’s a way out of poverty for him and Louis. It’s a chance to prove himself in the only thing he knows how to do. Harry suddenly feels a little woozy, like if he stood up he would immediately fall back over. “ _Holy shit_. Li-Liam. I’m gonna be a pro?”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m trying to say to you,” Liam says slowly, squeezing down on Harry’s shoulder harder. “Are you going to take the shot?”

“I—,” Harry stops. He knows why he’s hesitating; he did just have one of the worst fights of his life. “It would be stupid not to…but what if I lose?”

“Hell of a time to lose,” Liam says. “And it wouldn’t be the end of the world. Win or lose, this could be your in to the big time. If you lose, the journey is a little more difficult, but your name and face will be out there, and we can get another fight for you. If you win…you adopt all his scheduled fights, and you move up in rank, _Harry_ , you could be the World Middleweight Champ.”

The whole idea is still dawning on Harry, and it just doesn’t feel real. And yet…Liam _can’t_ be lying to him. “It’s a lot of pressure…I would need to train more, and Louis… Oh god, I barely saw him this week. How will we stand me training for something like this?”

“Louis loves you, and will be so proud of you for doing this. He’ll understand the extra training time you’ll need. You don’t have to tell him right away, after all, you have this month of rest,” Liam reminds him.

“Right, yeah,” Harry nods, heart beating fast from the reality of the situation. “C-can I have tonight? I’m going to say yes, definitely, but damn Li, I need a relaxed night with Louis.”

“Of course, that’s fine,” Liam agrees, voice gone soft. “We can talk more about it tomorrow afternoon if you want.”

“Please? I just want to be with Louis, and to clear my head,” Harry says. He tries to push himself off the bench, but his ribs betray him and send him toppling to the tiled floor. “ _Ah_ , I can’t even think about a next fight when I feel like this.”

“I know, Kiddo,” Liam says apologetically. He helps Harry up, careful not to press on his ribs, and lets Harry use him as a crutch while they walk to the door. “I won’t say anything to Louis.”

“Thanks Li,” Harry mumbles as they open the door.

Louis is on Harry in seconds, the big smile on his face immediately falling when he sees how injured Harry truly is. “Oh my god, _Haz,_ you can barely walk! Come ‘ere, let me help.”

“You take such good care of me,” Harry coos as he’s passed from Liam’s arms to Louis’.

“And I’ll take better care of you once we’re at home,” Louis promises, kissing Harry’s cheek. “I’ll wash you up and put Neosporin on all your wounds, and then we can cuddle up in bed.”

“Perfect,” Harry says before turning his attention to Niall and Liam. “We’ll see you two later, then? Thanks for coming Ni.”

“Sure, Louis’ gotta come in tomorrow night so we can talk about… _certain_ things,” Niall says excitedly.

Harry looks down at Louis skeptically, but he decides not to ask what that’s about until they’re home. “Alright then…Li, see you.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Liam says quickly, looking away from Louis’ suspicious stare. He waves goodbye to them all, and walks out with Niall, ahead of Louis and Harry.

Once they’re alone in the hall, Louis starts leading Harry to the exit, both of them going slowly from Harry’s limping. Louis is still nervous that Harry is taking the loss hard, and he wants to talk about it, but Harry is so headstrong about these things. All these years they’ve been able to talk about everything serious, but when it comes to Harry’s boxing, he tends to leave Louis out of his true feelings. Neither of them have any idea where Harry’s controlling and guarded attitude about it comes from, but Louis knows that at the end of the day Harry just wants him to think he’s strong. Which Louis does. Harry is the strongest man Louis has ever known.

With his bottom lip worried between his teeth, Louis stops them just before the exit. “Harry? I just want to make sure you’re okay after the fight. Like, really okay.”

“Lou—”

“Just hear me out, alright?” Louis continues to speak. “It wasn’t a fair fight, that much was obvious by that guy’s size, and you lasted so long. Probably longer than a lot of those spectators thought you would. It was a really good fight, whether you think so or not.”

If it wasn’t for all the welts and bruises on his face, it would be plainly obvious that Harry isn’t entirely okay. But he knows Louis can read him like a book anyway, so trying to hide his feelings wouldn’t work either way. “I…I’ll be okay tomorrow. Promise.”

“Good,” Louis concludes. Harry’s never once broken a promise.

+

The morning begins with Louis waking up earlier than he normally would like, but Harry is still sound asleep next to him. He’s snoring loudly and there’s a little drool running out of his bruised mouth, but Louis still thinks he’s adorable. He gently pushes Harry over so he’s lying on his back, and inspects the bruises on Harry’s ribs. They’ve evolved from red welts into deep purple and black marbled sores, and Louis just knows he’s going to have to ice them later to keep swelling and pain down. Helping Harry recover isn’t Louis’ favorite part of his career, but he’s always more than willing to make his Honey feel better.

A shiver up his spine reminds Louis of their current heating situation, and he rolls himself off the bed with a long sigh. He’d wake Harry up so he can pay the bill, but it’s definitely one of those mornings where Harry should stay in bed. However, Louis is perfectly capable of starting everything out and having Harry sign later. “Let’s get this day going.”

On his way out of the bedroom, Louis pulls on the first pair of boxer-briefs he comes across. They’re much too loose, and obviously Harry’s, but it makes them all the more comfortable. He stops at the linen closet and grabs their matches and a few candles, then finally makes his way to the kitchen.

After lighting the candles on their little breakfast nook table, and starting a kettle for tea, Louis grabs the laptop and pulls up the payment site. He decides to go ahead and send in the rent as well, since the extra money that man gave them would cover the next month as well. It’s almost always Louis who does actual paying, anyway. Harry is useless when it comes to these sorts of things, but Louis doesn’t mind doing it all for him.

The kettle whistles, and Louis prepares his first cup of the day, and when he turns around he pauses, looking around their tiny apartment, covering his chest with his arms to warm up from the cold, and he wishes. It’s always the same wish, that they had a little more money, a little more space, that they weren’t waiting around for the next big thing.

He never wishes for anything in his past to have changed, however, because he has no regrets. He doesn’t regret meeting Harry, or relinquishing his chance to go to college so his younger sister could go, and he could live with Harry here in the city. No choice he made in the past leaves a dark mark on his memory, because despite how hard everything is, he’s so happy now. Louis has no idea what he would be doing if he hadn’t stayed with Harry, but he can think of so many things he wouldn’t have if he’d said no all those years ago. Who knows where he’d be now if he didn’t start dating Harry so late in his senior year. Louis doesn’t really care to think about it.

He does, however, like to fantasize about how things _will_ be.

Louis dreams of a lavish life with Harry, with security and no worries at all about bills. He dreams of a big home, marriage, maybe even children. He dreams of expensive vacations to exotic places, and sharing everything in the world with Harry. In his heart Louis knows his dreams are long shots, because even if he and Harry somehow make enough to get by, it’s just not realistic to think they will be fabulously rich. In fact, the only Louis isn’t sure about for their future, is what he would be doing. Louis has spent so much of his life taking care of other people, but never had time to realize what he truly wants himself to do. But, at the end of the day, he doesn’t need all of those outrageous things, or to have a set path for himself, he just needs a happy Harry.

His tea is cold by the time Harry wakes up; he’s not going to bring attention to it. That would only upset Harry further, even though Louis did a very good job of cheering him up last night. He’d rubbed Harry down with ointment, kissed every cut and wound, and ended the evening by riding Harry nice and slow. Despite the situation, it ended up being a rather romantic night.

“Morning Lou,” Harry’s deep, gravelly morning voice comes through the kitchen. He’s still limping, less than last night though, and only some of the swelling in his face has gone down. “What are you staring off into space about?”

“Just thinking about things,” Louis says with a shrug and a smile. He kicks out the other chair at the table, an invitation for Harry to sit down, then turns the computer around for Harry to see. “I payed the bills already, figured I would let you sleep.”

“That’s sweet of you, Babes,” Harry says, sighing at the cold tea. “I’m pretty sure I’m already late to meet Liam at the gym anyway. What things were you thinking about?”

Louis sighs, leaning back so he’s staring up at the ceiling. “The future, I guess. I, um, I think things could be getting better soon, you know? Last night Niall lost his lead bartender, and he wants to give me the job.”

“That’s great! Did you say yes?”

“Of course! I’m really excited too,” Louis says, turning his head back down and smiling at Harry. “I get a nice little pay raise too, and I bet we will be able to actually go on proper date nights again.”

“Baby I’m so proud of you,” Harry says excitedly, leaning across the table to give Louis a kiss. He holds his lips against Louis for a moment, then moves to Louis’ cheek, and realizes he’s made a very big decision. “I look forward to those date nights, and actually…I’ve got some news of my own.”

“ _Ooo_ , this is exciting,” Louis grins. “Anything to do with your super-secret meeting with Liam after last night?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, it does,” Harry says. He clears his throat, and, in a way he hopes isn’t too dramatic, takes Louis’ hands in his, rubbing his thumbs over Louis’ knuckles. “Basically, he was contacted by an agent of someone, and out of all the people at Liam’s gym, this man’s client wants to fight against me. It was some long scouting mission, I guess, for the perfect amateur…and they picked _me_.”

Louis is on the edge of his seat, smiling growing bigger by the second. He knows what Harry is talking about, or hinting at rather, and he just wants Harry to say it. “ _And?_ ”

“And I’m going to participate in a _professional_ fight against fucking Ricky Cortez,” Harry finally spits out, barely able to get the words out through his smile.

“Oh my _god_ , oh— _Harry_ ,” Louis is practically in tears. He almost knocks down the entire table, and his boyfriend, in his wake to climb onto Harry’s lap, pulling him in for a deep kiss. “Fuck, the fucking _pros_ , I’m so _proud_ —”

“I know—” Harry moans, wrapping his arms around Louis’ waist as they both try to talk through their kisses. “I—I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Are you crazy?” Louis asks in disbelief. “This is your _dream_. You better march right into Liam’s office and accept that fight as soon as you get to the gym.”

“I will, Baby, I promise I will,” Harry assures him. His hands move down to Louis’ thighs as he starts to kiss Louis’ neck, humming into the soft skin. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I’m so fucking proud of you,” Louis says breathlessly.

“Hmm,” Harry continues to hum. “And Liam said win or lose, this could be my way into the pros.”

“Holy _shit_ ,” Louis gasps, eyes widening. He pushes Harry back so he can look into his eyes, and he finds no hint of dishonesty. “This is really real? It’s really happening?”

“Hopefully, I could be the champ.”

“Oh my god, you need to _stop_ ,” Louis moans, grinding his ass down when he kisses Harry this time. He can’t help that the idea of Harry being a _professional boxer_ , and possibly winning a title has him all hot. “You’ll win, of course you’ll win.”

“I’ll try, I’ve got to train so much more—” He’s interrupted by another kiss from Louis, and suddenly he really doesn’t care about training.

“ _God_ , just picturing you, Middleweight Champion, best in the world, and all _mine_ ,” Louis groans again, biting down on Harry’s neck. He sucks a deep mark in, one to match the bruises rom the fight, and keeps up the movement of his hips. “I want you so bad, I wish we had time for a morning round.”

“Damn Louis, I can’t imagine how you’ll be when I’m actually a professional,” Harry says with a tight laugh, masking the fact that he is very turned on by his boy. This is the warmest they’ve both been all weekend.

“Things are really looking up, Honey,” Louis says, sliding off Harry’s lap. He’s on his knees in seconds, smiling up at Harry with bright, devilish eyes. “I know we both have places to go, but what kind of supportive boyfriend would I be if I didn’t reward your success?”

“Baby, I-I can’t really say no to that,” Harry says, laughing lightly. It’s hard to keep his voice level when Louis’ got a hand on his cock over the very thin material of his boxers, and is looking up at him with the prettiest blue eyes. “I-I’m also in no position to say no.”

“As if you would say no to this,” Louis says with a playful wink. “God, just imagine, someday I could blow you while you wear the Champ’s belt.”

Harry is completely hard in seconds. Just as Louis’ warm, wet mouth is around his cock, he starts to imagine what it will be like one, big heavy belt around his waist, and pretty Louis on his knees. Hopefully by then it will also be in a bigger apartment, maybe even a penthouse, and on a big bed, with a mirror above it…Harry’s mind loses its trail of thought when Louis deepthroats him.

“ _Fuck_ , Baby, this is all the motivation I’ll need during that match,” Harry moans, running a hand through Louis’ soft hair, then leaving it to rest on the back of his neck.

Louis smirks around Harry’s dick, pulling off with a wet pop, and taking it in his hand to stroke it. “As it should be, now sit back Baby, you’re supposed to be resting and relaxing.”

Harry lets out a breathless laugh, head falling onto the back of the chair as Louis takes him in his mouth again. Louis’ mouth is fucking _heaven_ , and sometimes it feels like Harry doesn’t deserve someone so sexy and beautiful. Harry says a little prayer that he’s made a thousand times before, a silent promise to one day treat and spoil his boy like the prince he truly is, win this match, and all the ones after it, become the man he feels is worthy of Louis.


	3. Chapter Two

“Yes Sweetheart, I’m taking a break for my appointment at lunch,” Liam mumbles into his phone as Harry walks in. He nods to Harry, gesturing for him to sit down, whilst trying to calm his wife. “Marc- _Marci_. Harry is here and I have to go…Yes Baby I promise I won’t miss the appointment. Okay, I love you.”

Harry can’t help but laugh as his friend hangs up his phone. He kicks his feet up on Liam’s desk, crossing his arms over his chest as he says, “Marci worried about her _big boy’s_ health?”

“Very funny,” Liam grumbles. He leans forward on his desk, looking very much like an exasperated principle berating a student. “Marci and I have been trying to have a baby, if you must know. Obviously it hasn’t happened yet, so we’ve both got doctor’s appointments to make sure…everything is fine.”

“ _Shit_ ,” Harry groans, taking his feet down. “Well now I feel bad.”

“It’s fine, I don’t think anything is wrong, but she’s really stressing herself out about it.”

“Louis and I are here if you need anything. I mean _anything_ ; support, ride to the doctor, sperm…” Harry smirks, holding down laughter.

“Don’t make me hit you when you’re already so injured,” Liam scowls. “You’re not here to talk about my marital problems, you’re here to get to work. For the next couple days, you’ll just be doing laps in the pool, and when you’re not as sore we will really get down to business.”

“How will we do that? Do you have anybody with the same stats as Pretty Ricky?” Harry asks, big smile forming on his face.

Liam looks up from the desk, a flash of pride in his eyes as he stares at his friend. “So, you’ll do the fight?”

Harry raises his hands and nods. “I’ve got nothing better to do, and Louis was _very_ clear about how much he wants me to do it.”

“Good on you!” Liam says, rushing around the desk to pull Harry out of his seat, and into a tight embrace. Harry groans in pain a little, but Liam doesn’t let up. “I’m going to drive you crazy with training, but you’re gonna make it. I swear I’ll take care of you.”

“I know, Li,” Harry says, patting Liam’s back.

Liam pulls back, clutching Harry’s shoulders. “To answer your earlier question, there isn’t anyone quite at Ricky’s level, except you and me. But I’ll have you spar with all my best guys when you’re ready. You’ll have full access to any equipment you think you’ll need, too. We’re going full Rocky.”

“Thank you Li, I won’t be able to do this without you,” Harry says graciously.

“I’m not going to disagree,” Liam says, patting Harry’s cheek. “Get your swim trunks on and start on your laps. I need to call an agent to set up a contract signing.”

“Sure thing, Boss,” Harry says, grabbing his gym bag off the floor. He stops at the door and turns around with a smirk as he says, “I do _love_ when you get all _demanding_ and tell me what to do.”

“Get _out_.”

Harry laughs as he shuts Liam’s office door. This is one of the busiest times of the day for the gym, as most of the boxers who train have school or actual work during the day. It’s mostly college students who do all kinds of fighting, but Harry knows a few older guys who train in the evening. The pool is empty, however, which is good news for Harry. He’s not particularly in the mood to talk about last night’s fight.

He makes his way into the locker room, and his personal locker in the very back corner, number 201. He scrolls through his combination, 00-12-24, and smiles because he’s aware of how cheesy it is that his locker number is his birthday, and the lock combo is Louis’. He can’t help how disgustingly in love he is.

Once he’s stripped down to just his swim trunks, he shuts his locker, and he’s met with the smiling face of one of Liam’s youngest trainees. Harry’s never talked to him, but he sees him every now and then, one of the teenagers. “Um, hello.”

“Hi, sorry if this is weird, but I was at your fight last night—”

“Oh. Bad night to show up.”

The boy’s eyes widen. “Sorry! I-I mean, I’m not here to make you feel bad, I thought you did a great job! A-And rumor has it Pretty Ricky called you out—”

“People heard about that already?”

The boys shrugs, “Shit gets around. He also sort of said something about it on twitter.”

“I don’t have a twitter,” Harry says, leaning back against the locker. “A bit petty to be calling me out when I haven’t even agreed to fight him yet.”

“That’s what I said!” The kids says enthusiastically. His face drops, however, into a nervous frown. “Are you though? Like, are you gonna do the fight?”

“Yeah, Kid,” Harry says, looking on at the kid with a new sense of familiarity. He sees a bit of himself at sixteen in the boy’s eyes. “I just told Liam I would do it.”

“ _Awesome_!” The boys shouts, grabbing Harry’s hand and vigorously shaking it. “I’m definitely going to save up so I can go!”

“That’s very nice of you,” Harry laughs, placing his free hand on the boy’s shoulder. “If you don’t mind, Liam has me in the pool this morning.”

The boy drops Harry’s hand, giddy smile still plastered on his face. “Right, sorry. Good luck!”

“Thanks kid,” harry says, walking over and grabbing a white towel from the clean closet.

The kid starts to leave, then stops at the last second, looking up at Harry with a faint blush. “Um, Harry? You know your boyfriend, Louis?”

“Mmm?”

“He’s um,” the boy gulps. “He’s very pretty.”

Harry can’t help but laugh again, ruffling the boy’s hair. “I know kid, I’ll be sure to pass that on to him.”

+

On nice days like this, Louis will get out earlier than usual so he can walk to work, even if he has the evening shift. When he has the afternoon shift, like now, it’s even better because he knows he can call his mom during the walk and catch up with what his big family is doing upstate. He doesn’t have the time or funds to actually make it back home to see them as often as everyone would want him to, but he tries his hardest to stay in contact with all of them.

“ _Hello! One second Lou!_ ” She says, out of breath and rushed. It’s quickly followed by, “ _Girls! Get dressed right now!_ ”

“Have I called at a bad time?”

“ _No! No, we’re all just getting ready for the twins’ community choir concert tonight. As usual, the Tomlinson’s are running behind._ ”

“Oh god, is that really tonight?” Louis sighs, tiredly running his hand down his cheek.

“ _Yes, but don’t worry Dear, there will always be others._ ”

“I know, I just hate missing any of them.”

“ _Everyone here understands. We know it’s hard for you to get home. How are things going with my oldest baby, anyway?_ ”

“Well, the heating is out, but I paid the bill this morning so hopefully it will be back on soon,” Louis sighs.

“ _Oh Louis, why didn’t you call? We’d be happy to help with your bills._ ”

“You have your own bills to pay, and Harry and I took care of it.” He insists. “Besides, Niall just gave me a promotion at his bar, so that’s plenty of extra income now.”

“ _That’s wonderful! He’s such a good friend to you_.”

“Yeah exactly, but even _bigger_ news—”

“ _Harry proposed! You proposed!_ ”

Louis almost chokes on his own tongue. “Um, _no_ , not yet anyway.” He says with a nervous laugh. She has been waiting for them to get married for so long, and always asks if it’s happening yet. Louis gets a little sad whenever he says no. “Harry is going to be in a _professional_ fight. He’s been challenged by a former champion.”

“ _Oh my god! Louis that’s amazing! You make sure to tell him how proud I am!_ ”

“I will, definitely, thank you mom. He’s going to start training for it very soon, I think. I mean, after last night, I’d hoped he would take a break, but I just know Harry will want to get right to it.”

“ _What happened last night?_ ”

“Harry lost a fight. It was his first loss in a long time,” Louis says disappointingly. “It wasn’t a fair fight at all, but he took it really hard.”

“ _Well, you know I have no idea how any of that works, but I’m rooting for him as always. I’m rooting for both of you_.”

“We know,” Louis says with a soft smile. Jay has loved their relationship since the first time Louis introduced Harry, all the way back in high school. He turns a corner and sees the bright sign hanging above Niall’s Pub. “Mom? I’m just got to work, so—”

“ _Right, right, I’ll let you go. I’ll send you video from the concert. Love you, Boo Bear_.”

Louis rolls his eyes at his childhood pet name. “Love you too.”

As he hangs up, he pushes open the door and his eyes adjust to the low lighting, blinking several times. To the right is the restaurant area, where a couple families are enjoying their lunches in the city, and a few loners stuff their faces while finishing up work on breaks. To the left is the bar, which Niall sits behind, glasses on and eyes focused on a set of paperwork, pencil securely bitten between his teeth. Louis smirks, before purposefully stumbling over to the bar, dramatically pushing a couple stools out of the way.

“Oh, Niall, why must we keep the lights _off_ during the day? I swear I get more and more blind by the day!”

“Louis, if I die—”

“ _If?_ ”

“—then you can take over this Pub and put the lights as bright as you want during the day,” Niall says, not bothering to look up from his paperwork. Greetings from Louis are often of the sarcastic sort.

“Alright, sounds good, but you better tell your lawyers or whoever as soon as you can. Hate for you to bite it before I am officially the new owner,” Louis chirps, propping himself up on his hands, elbows on the bar.

“How about we settle for the promotion paperwork first?” Niall asks, turning the paperwork he’d been studying around, and pushing it to Louis. “I already filled out all my sections, and you already know how to do the job, so once you’re done signing everything then we can just get to work.”

“Someone is in a very no nonsense mood today.”

“And someone else is in a much better mood,” Niall says, walking around to Louis’ side of the bar. “Can I assume everything is better at home?”

Louis can hardly contain his smile. He isn’t sure if Harry would want to tell people other than family this soon, but Niall is one of Harry’s closest friends too, and _god_ Louis is just too excited to keep it in. “Well, yeah actually. Can I tell you a very big secret? Like, something you absolutely cannot tell anyone about, and definitely cannot brag about?”

“You’re pregnant!”

Louis slaps Niall’s arm. “That’s not humanly possible…no matter how hard Harry tries,” Louis says with a wink. “Seriously though, this is big news and you can’t blab.”

“Lou, I’m your best friend, you can trust me.”

“Okay, right,” Louis then lowers his voice, making sure none of the customers can hear them. “Harry is going to have a professional match! He was personally chosen by a former champion!”

“HOLY SHIT!” Niall shouts, nearly knocking everything off the bar top from his excited, flailing hands.

Louis grabs those hands and pulls them down, “Shh! Don’t draw attention to us!”

“Sorry, right, but _holy shit_ ,” Niall says, voice softer this time, but eyes just as wide. “Who is he fighting against? When is it? Where is it? What’s the money gonna be like? Do I get to go? Will celebrities be there? Will—”

“Niall! I don’t have all the answers yet! Harry literally just told me this morning.”

“Oh my god, okay, wow. Um, you finish this and I guess we can try to work today, but I am begging you to text me as soon as you get all the details. I need everything!”

“I will, I will,” Louis assures him, laughing softly. He pushes Niall off the stool, and tries to turn around to finish the paperwork. “Let me fill this out in peace.”

“Okay,” Niall says, as though in some sort of trance, walking slowly to the back of the pub. “When you’re done you just bring that to me…I’ll be in my office…staring at the wall in disbelief.”

+

After doing fifty laps in the pool, followed by a half hour on the treadmill, Liam has Harry lift weights, and then rest before getting ready to do it all over again. It’s so boring. The downside of any fight where Harry gets really beaten, is Liam makes him do this same thing every day for a week. No fun workouts, no in-ring work, no messing around with the other guys or the younger boys and having any fun. Just plain old workouts to keep strength up and not do any further damage to his injuries. At least it would save both of them the wrath of Louis, if Harry were to come home with his facial wounds opened up again.

But with it all being so boring, Harry has been going slower than usual. His mind keeps drifting to Louis, to how proud he’s going to be once the fight becomes official. His mind also keeps drifting to this morning and the blowjob Louis gave him, and especially how Harry didn’t have time to return the favor. God, what he wouldn’t do to have Louis sit on his face right now.

Liam doesn’t exactly follow just him around all day, he has so many other people in the gym that need his supervision for training, but he always keeps an eye on Harry, just a result of their friendship. He knows when Harry is distracted, because he’s slower, out of rhythm, and instead of determination in his eyes, they’re just blank, going through the motions. Liam watches Harry climb back into the pool, go under the water for a moment, and then come back up but hold onto the side. He doesn’t make a move to start swimming, just floats on his back, staring up at the ceiling.

With a sigh, Liam claps one of the other trainers on the back, instructs him to take the lead, and makes his way over to the pool. He’s expecting Harry to respond with something about his insecurities regarding the upcoming fight, when he asks, “Everything alright?”

Instead, what Liam gets is a very serious response of, “Yeah, I just really wanna have sex right now.”

Liam is taken aback, but not much because this is just how Harry is sometimes. Over-sharing. “That’s nice but I can’t help you with that.”

“ _Thanks_ , I wasn’t asking you to,” Harry says, pulling his body back up into a standing position. He rests his arms on the side of the pool, and with a smirk he continues, “Although I wouldn’t be opposed.”

“Please don’t—”

“I _mean_ , I have seen your cock in the locker room once or twice, Li, and I think anyone would be honored to hop on th—”

“You are so close to being banned, it’s not even funny!” Liam groans, throwing his arms above his head as he turns to walk away. “Finish your damn laps and the other shit, so you can get home to Louis. Try not to jizz in my pool.”

“Let me punch something and I won’t.”

“Fine. Speedball after this, but no more sex talk.”

Harry laughs before getting back to work. He loves messing with Liam, especially about his sex life. He’s been over-sharing ever since high school after his and Louis’ first time. Their first time was cliché and after the senior prom, but it was still too special to hold in, and young Harry had gushed about it to Liam the next week.

_“It was perfect, Li. So romantic with all the flowers everywhere, just like you told me to do. And Louis really makes the prettiest noises…I think we were both pretty good for the first time…can’t imagine how good we’re gonna get…”_

_“That’s nice Harry, I’m glad you both had a good time, now please just punch me.”_

Ever since, Liam has been the springboard to all of their better stories, because he just takes the information in, and keeps it locked inside his brain, never to be shared with anybody. Liam himself wishes he didn’t know. Harry would never let just anybody in on the nasty things he and Louis do in bed, but Liam is his best friend, and he knows Louis doesn’t mind that, especially since Harry knows Louis brags to Niall about it all.

Harry does not jizz in the pool.

He holds everything in, uses it as motivation, and hurries to pack his shit and get home to his Baby.

+

The work day goes by quickly, albeit not without the constant hounding from Niall about every single possible piece of information about this fight. Information that Louis hasn’t even thought of asking Harry about yet, because he’s just so happy this is finally happening. The love of his life is going to be a professional boxer, not exactly what a young Louis Tomlinson would dream of, but reality can sometimes be better than dreams.

Not their current reality, because that is still on the lowest end of glamour. Who knows how much money this fight will bring in, and who knows if more offers and sponsors will even come from it? Louis believes in Harry, wholeheartedly, but it’s the rest of the world he doesn’t trust. So many people want this dream, and so many people have talent and passion for it too. Sometimes, actual success comes down to the other people and what they want, so if fate wills it, they will pick Harry to be their new rising star.

On his walk home today, Louis opts to take the long-way, so he can pass by some of the storefronts, and continue his days dreaming. He really wishes he wasn’t so materialistic, and he _isn’t_ , really. It’s more that Louis wishes he could have an extravagant life, be eccentrically rich to the point of having ridiculously expensive things, but still be the generous person he is in his heart. If he had millions of dollars, most of it would go to trying to save the world, and giving his family anything their hearts desired, but then still give himself little pleasures.

Pleasures such as a few designer pieces, like the ones he’s walking by now. There’s something about a brand-name that makes a piece of clothes look even more elegant. All his life, Louis has been just dying to have a walk-in closet, filled to the brim with names like Versace, Gucci, and YSL. He’d love to see Harry in these clothes as well, living their best life, looking like princes, but living with less responsibility.

He sighs at some jewels in a window. Harry Winston, his other favorite Harry, always had Louis’ favorite style of jewels. His Harry likes to wear rings and necklaces, and Louis would love to come home with the newest HW collection, as though the expense were nothing. Louis loves a good bracelet or anklet for himself, and he always felt his ankles and wrists looked so dainty, and a sparkling decoration would only make them look prettier.

There is never regret in Louis’ heart for choosing to follow Harry and support him, because he fully believes Harry is his soulmate. But there is a longing for something different for himself. Louis has just never truly know what he wants to do with his own life. He’s never known what he wanted in a career, and so following Harry was easy. The life isn’t, but being with Harry is. The best part of it all is that Louis knows when he finally does figure out whatever it is he is meant to do in this world, Harry will support him just as much. That’s probably the most comforting thing about being in love with Harry.

The walk home goes by slowly, with lots of distractions in many different windows, and Louis tries to keep his daydreaming in check. But he can’t help but think about entering one of the high-end buildings, taking the elevator all the way to the top floor, a penthouse probably, and entering the doors as casually as he enters his small home now. Somehow, Louis feels like that is the life meant for them.

Louis isn’t used to Harry being home before him, so the blaring music coming from their apartment as he finally reaches it is a bit of a surprise. They used to get complaints about the music from their neighbors, so they turned it down, only to be met with more complaints about their loud sex. The neighbors eventually leaned to live with the music. Louis only smiles to himself and unlocks the door, and he is met with a glorious sight.

Harry is across the room, shirtless, sweaty and shiny, and doing pull-ups on his fit-bar attached to the doorway. His biceps bulge out with every upward pulling motion, and his abs are even more defined than usual. His long curls are held up in a messy bun, and his lips have turned the most delicious shade of red, something they always tend to when Harry gets in a good workout. He’s also wearing very tiny, very tight shorts, leaving _nothing_ to the imagination. Louis tries not to drool. He’s seen that body so many times, and yet Harry never fails to take his breath away.

“Yum,” Louis says, licking his lips as he closes the door behind his back. “Didn’t expect to see you like this so soon.”

Harry grunts deeply, and drops down from the bar, clapping his hands together with a smirk. He turns off the music and puts his hands on his hips, chest heaving as he takes deep breaths because of the workout. “Baby, I’m gonna be a pro, so I’m gonna be training a lot more.”

“Does this mean I’ll get to come home to _this_ more often?” Louis asks, dropping his phone and his wallet onto the table by the door.

“I mean, I was planning on just being naked for you whenever you got home,” Harry says with a wink. “Liam had me in the pool for a while, and I had to beg him to let me go at the speedball, but _god_ , Baby I’m so pumped. I was going out of my fucking mind waiting for you.”

“And I’m so proud,” Louis says sweetly, walking over to his boyfriend. “Now just fuck me.” He groans, pouncing at Harry with a needy pout, hands flying behind Harry’s neck. “I mean it, if you’re not too sore, that is.”

Harry grabs Louis by his hips, pulling him close so there’s no space between. “Well, a little,” He says, cocking up one of his eyebrows. “Guess you’ll just have to ride me.”

Louis rolls his eyes, jumping up so he can wrap his legs around Harry, who catches him effortlessly. “I’d love to, Rocky.”

Harry giggles, leaning in to kiss Louis. He smells like musk and sweat, yet still so good that it makes Louis want to bury himself in it. Maybe it’s a little gross that Louis likes it when Harry’s been working out and glistening, but he can’t help the primal feeling he gets. Louis has always loved Harry’s natural scent. Louis kisses Harry’s neck and takes a deep sniff of his skin as he’s carried to their bedroom. The heat’s still off but neither even notices when in each other’s arms.

Just as they get through the bedroom door, Harry chirps in his best Stallone impression, “Yo, Adrien.”

Louis stops everything, pinching Harry’s neck in a painful way. “Okay, obviously I get the reference, but if you call me by anyone else’s name in bed, I will move back in with my mother.”

Harry’s eyes widen, partly aware Louis is kidding, but also pretty sure Louis would follow through just to teach him a lesson. “Adrien? I don’t know her.”

“That’s better,” Louis says with a satisfied grin. He hops out of Harry’s arms and turns the taller man around, pushing him onto the bed. “Now just sit back and enjoy, Champ. Your Sweetheart is going to treat you tonight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note, there are going to be a lot of original characters, as I want to avoid real life people as much as possible to make this more enjoyable for everyone :)


	4. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lets all pretend i have time to actually continue writing, and enjoy this very long chapter :)

“Oh fuck, gimme a finger, _please_ ,” Louis moans into his pillow, pushing himself back into Harry’s face. He’s been like this for about twenty minutes, but Harry won’t let him come, no matter how much Louis begs.

Not that Louis is complaining. Harry’s been in this mood for the last two months, ever since he and Liam hired a sports agent, and signed the contract for the fight. The energy change in Harry has not been hidden by any means, and his already high sex drive has gone up even more. His newfound confidence has made him that much more dominant in bed, and Louis loves every second of it. If this is how good the sex is before the fight, Louis can’t even imagine how good it will be after Harry wins. And Louis knows he’ll win.

Harry smirks, and opens Louis up more with his thumbs, licking in as deep as he can. He wishes he could keep Louis like this for hours, with his pretty high-pitched whimpers, and the glistening sheen of sweat on his perfect body. Sometimes, Harry thinks he likes eating Louis’ ass more than he likes fucking it, because he can give Louis all of his attention, control him and his pleasure better.

Louis is almost at his wits end, hips slowly rolling against the bed, and Harry does nothing to stop him. He can always tell when Louis is about to come, and Harry will just keep edging him to right there. He hasn’t decided for how long yet. It’s almost cruel how sexy Louis sounds when he’s about to come, when any words he says become incoherent, and he gets small tears in his eyes, only to let out a wail of disappointment when Harry slows down to prolong it all.

“Fuck, fuck, _fuck_ ,” Louis whines, and he’s about to ask Harry for his fingers again, or maybe to just come already, when a vibrating buzz comes from the bedside table. Harry stops and looks up, taking his wonderfully skilled mouth away from Louis’ skin, and causing an exacerbated groan to leave Louis’ lips. “You better not answer that now!”

Harry smirks, wiping some spit from the back of his mouth. “Sorry Love, but it’s Liam.” As he reaches over for the phone, he prevents Louis from arguing again by shoving his boxers into Louis’ mouth, and answering quickly. Louis glares up at him, and Harry holds a finger to his lip. “Shh…Hey Li.”

“ _Alright to talk for a couple minutes?_ ”

“Sure, I’m not busy.”

Louis looks about ready to kill, but he doesn’t make a move to spit out the boxers. Instead, he closes his eyes and grinds his hips back, ass rolling into Harry’s hard cock, silently telling him exactly what he wants. Harry just gives one of his cheeks a little spank, and Louis squeaks around the fabric in his mouth.

“ _What was that?_ ”

“Oh, nothing, Louis just, uh, tripped,” Harry says as nonchalantly as he can. He then slips his middle and ring finger into his mouth, getting them wet while he listens to Liam.

“ _Okay, anyway, Martin sent me the schedule for the press conference, and he wants you to lay low until then. He said it will be better for you and for publicity if you remain a little mysterious before the fight. He wants to build up drama or some shit._ ”

Harry pulls his fingers out with a quiet pop, saliva dripping off them as he brings them down to Louis’ ass. What he does next is so rude, but Harry is feeling especially mischievous today. He shoves his fingers into Louis’ tight, wet hole just as he responds to Liam, and Louis has to bite the pillow to keep from moaning too loud. “I think that sounds like a fun idea. Shouldn’t be too hard to not be noticed, since I’m still a nobody.”

“ _Not for long. I know you’re going to win, and Martin already loves you, so he’s going to do big things with your career._ ”

“It’s insane that I even have an agent,” Harry continues, and Louis can’t believe how casual he’s being, with his fingers all the way up his ass.

As Harry and Liam exchange a few more words back and forth, boring shit about scheduling and the press conference talking points, Louis decides to make the most of his situation. He closes his eyes and just lets himself feeling Harry’s long fingers inside him. He rocks back and forth, and pretty soon, Harry starts fingering him properly, stretching him out so that he can, Louis hopes, fuck him hard when he hangs up the phone.

Harry just watches as Louis loses himself in it. They’ve been together eight years, only had sex with each other, and yet Harry is still in awe of how beautiful Louis is like this. He’s so glad it’s only been Louis, he wouldn’t want anyone else, and he would probably hate the person who got to touch Louis before him, if they had existed. This beautiful man, with perfect peach-like soft skin, long eyelashes that have clumped up with wet tears, pretty pink lips, and an ass that so many would be jealous of, is all Harry’s and only ever has been. It’s humanly impossible for there to be anyone more perfect.

Harry gets so lost in his thoughts, in watching Louis ride his fingers, that he misses most of Liam’s comments. “Shit, sorry what was that?”

“ _I said Martin is going to pay for a custom suit for you, and he can arrange to get one for Louis too if you want_.”

“Oh right, Louis,” Harry says softly, and Louis’ eyes open again. “Yes, I think he’d love a custom suit, and I think he’s earned it…and more.”

Louis smiles around the fabric of the boxers, and his cock twitches at the thought of the two of them in tailored suits. He wonders if there’s a word for someone who gets turned on by expensive, materialistic things.

“ _Great, I can let him know, and I guess he’ll schedule the fitting for both of you together_.”

“Thanks, um, are we almost done here? I have stuff I need to do,” Harry says quickly, as Louis pulls the boxers out of his mouth, arching his back and sitting up on his hands and knees again, looking over his shoulder with determination in his eyes. Harry knows he’s finally had enough. “And I think I’m going to have to do it now.”

Louis scoffs out loud.

“ _That’s fine, I’m sure Martin is going to call you, so he can follow up._ ”

“Uh…huh,” Harry stutters to find a response, as Louis sits up, riding back on his fingers but now with his back flush against Harry’s front. “L-Li, I really need to go— _oh._ ”

“ _Okay, be at the gym early tomorrow—_ ”

“Got it—” Louis reaches back and starts stroking Harry’s cock.

“ _By early, I mean 7 o’clock._ ”

“Right— _oh fuck_ , bye Liam!” Harry grunts, hanging up the phone and tossing it across the room. He grabs Louis by the wrist, pulling his fingers out at the same time to tug Louis back by his hair. “Fuck, you’re not being a very good boy.”

With a glassy smile, Louis looks up at his man. He licks his lips and arches his brow. “ _Oops._ ”

“ _Oops_ ,” Harry mocks, turning Louis around and shoving him down on his back on the bed. “I love how much of a brat you are.”

“Is that why you’re always pushing me to be one?” Louis asks, opening his legs up and pulling Harry towards him by his waist. “Bet I’ll calm down if you’d just fuck me already.”

“ _God_ , I love you,” Harry says. He lets out a long moan when he finally pushes his cock into Louis, slowly for now because he knows he’s going to want it hard soon. Over the years, Harry has come to love the brief moment when his cock first enters Louis, where his lover looks slightly pained, but always with a smile. They were truly made for each other, soul and body.

He leans down to give Louis a kiss, and he gets a slap in return, a reminder to get back to business. This isn’t some planned out, post dinner date, love-making session. This is an afternoon fuck, brought on by Harry’s wild work-out hormones and pent-up excitement. Harry gets his kiss anyway, grabbing Louis’ wrists and locking them above his head, fucking his hips in and out as he shoves his tongue in Louis’ mouth. It’s not Harry’s fault that he can find romance in any sort of sex they may have.

One day, maybe even soon, they’ll be filthy rich and Harry can be romantic in other ways, big gestures and expensive jewelry, and lots of flowers, and he’ll be able to just fuck Louis hard without trying to turn it into anything else. Probably not though, because even if they lived in some big penthouse, and they had the chance to ravish each other on every overpriced surface, Harry would still think of it as making love. He loves Louis that much.

+

The sound of cameras clicking and flashing, and the bustling and gossiping of reporters, bloggers, and other agents, are already so loud on the other side of the door. Harry is leaning against the wall, Louis held close in his arms, while Liam and Martin discuss more points that will be brought up. Niall has come along as well, pacing back and forth in the thin hallway, because Martin thought it would be good for the press to see a more full entourage in Harry’s corner. He ended up getting them all custom casual suits, with the same grey, white, and pink color scheme, and Harry is wearing his with three buttons open, which delighted Martin. Louis and Harry are also wearing matching rose-colored glasses with silver brims.

“You look gorgeous, really, so you need to relax!” Martin tells Harry, clapping him on the shoulder. “You know everything you need to say, and just smile and ignore anything that has-been has to say to you.”

“Thanks Martin, I’ve got it,” Harry says, trying to hold in his laughter.

Martin can be a bit over-bearing at times, but he’s already done so much for Harry’s public image. When Liam started poking around for a possible agent, Martin was the first one to come in for the job. He said he spent one evening watching some of Harry’s fights, and that was all he needed to see to know Harry will be a star. He made a twitter for Harry, and approves all of the posts behind it, which consists of mostly training pictures and videos. He’s promised that after today, Harry can start making his own posts, build up his own fanbase, but he wants today to be his big public debut.

“That’s one of the things I love about you, Harry. The confidence! Liam, you also need to be ready now, because I know they’ll address you too,” Martin says, rubbing Liam’ shoulders. He looks like they’re about to go out for the fight right now. “Everything changes today!”

Liam looks sick, and Niall takes over the shoulder rubbing for Martin, as Liam gets on the phone to send a quick call to Marci. He doesn’t get nervous easily, but this is the first press conference he’s ever had to give, and he doesn’t want to fuck anything up for Harry.

Everything changes today.

The words aren’t lost on Louis. Everyone will know who they are after today. Privacy may have to end after today. He isn’t afraid of losing Harry, not by any means, but he is afraid of the pressure Harry will receive. Once he gives this interview, everyone will want to form an opinion on him, on both of them, and they’re tiny world will be broken into. Everyone will know how they live, and Louis’ only wish is that people get behind them, to root for them to get out of their current situation.

“Do you think they’ll like me?” Harry asks in a whisper, kissing Louis’ temple.

Louis smiles, looking up at Harry who is smiling back. All worry Louis has just drifts away. Who couldn’t love that face? “If they don’t, then they’re all idiots. And you’ll knock out Ricky anyway.”

With a smile, Harry tips Louis’ face up by his chin, and brings him for a kiss, humming into his lips. Before they get a chance to deepen the kiss, Niall is pulling them apart, almost violently.

“Excuse me, Love Birds, as much as _I_ love the PDA, I have just one quick question.”

“What is it, Ni?” Harry asks.

“Yeah, what does an entourage member do exactly? Just stand behind you and look pretty?”

“Yes, I believe that’s exactly what Martin wants you to do, right Marty?” Louis asks.

Martin turns around, hands firmly on both of Liam’s cheeks, with his signature over-excited smile. “Yes, yes! You, Louis, and I will stand behind Harry and Liam, who will be sitting at a table, and we are simply there to listen and react. Haven’t you ever seen an athlete’s entourage with them at events? A good clique makes for a more exciting person to follow.”

“Right, like Neymar,” Niall says, nodding his head.

“Yes, you’ve got it! Oh! Louis, be sure to make as much physical contact as possible, show the people how in love you two are. It’s 2018, and gay love is the best motivator to get fans behind you!”

He turns back to Liam to finish his pep-talk, and Niall snorts and shakes his head, laughter contained. He backs away from Martin and against the wall next to Harry and Louis, whispering to both of them, “Is he always this…”

“Enthusiastic?” Harry completes.

“Sure.”

“I think he’s fun!” Louis says cheerfully. “And he wants us to be out, which I’m sure is more than most sports agents would ask for.”

“How did he get us these suits?” Niall asks, holding out the ends of his own. “I mean, no offense Harry, but you haven’t done anything yet! And these are _Hugo Boss_.”

“Honestly, I didn’t ask,” Harry says with a laugh. “He’s investing a lot in me, and he’s got all kinds of connections, who am I to question kindness?”

“I’m just curious! I’ll only start questioning him when the free suits stop coming!”

Just then, there is a loud knocking on the door, and the rumbling and clicking gets louder when Martin opens the door to check in. He exchanges words with the security there, and then turns around with an even more excited grin than before.

“It’s time! Okay, Liam go first,” Martin says, pushing Liam out the door, “And then you Niall, alright…You two, arm and arm, follow me!”

Louis clutches tightly onto Harry’s arm, leaning onto his shoulder a bit as well while they walk out. Louis thought he would be blinded by the cameras, but somehow he remains calm, even starts to smile as they flash over and over again, following the two of them as they walk up to the conference table. On the other side is “Pretty” Ricky Cortez, hair perfectly slicked back, tan and white suit on, with a shiny gold watch on his wrist, and a toothpick in his sly smile. A smile directed right at Louis, who just shakes it off and turns back to the reporters, who have all started to say his name for some reason.

Harry takes a seat, but he brings Louis’ hand to his mouth, kissing the back of his fingers quickly, before letting it rest on his shoulder. He takes a look over at Ricky, their eyes catching for just a moment, sizing each other up. Harry does his best to look emotionless, while Ricky keeps a cocky smile and scoffs obviously. He just looks arrogant, like he’s already champ again, and like Harry is nothing at all. Maybe in terms of professional boxing Harry isn’t a name, but he’s going to make sure that changes.

The interview starts off well enough, with small introductions from both men, their backgrounds and records, Ricky’s being much longer than Harry’s. The reporters begin with questions to the trainers about the regimes both boxers have been going through, and Liam almost doesn’t want to stop talking about how ready Harry is. They ask questions about their families, the people who will be in their corners, and Harry is very happy to introduce Louis to the world.

“My mom and sister are going to be watching from home, but I’ll have my boyfriend here right outside the ring. Louis Tomlinson, we’ve been together for probably eight years now, he’s my biggest fan.”

“You must be very proud of Harry then, right Louis?”

Instead of giving a verbal answer, Louis just flashes a bright smile, which every single camera captures many times, and nods, squeezing Harry’s shoulder.

They continue with questions to Ricky, and Harry does his best to drown him out, only focusing on relevant comments, and not so much any of the fluff Ricky tries to put in. He’s a showman in the way he reiterates his story about falling from the top and working so hard to get everything back, but Harry can’t start to feel bad for him. As soon as Harry humanizes his opponent, he’s lost.

“You hand picked Styles from the amateurs, a move most are calling a big career risk. Are you concerned about what should happen if you lose?”

Okay, now Harry is listening. He has been spending all of his time preparing, and all the while he has wondered what Ricky’s mindset is in regard to the fight not going his way. Harry has everything to gain, and Ricky has everything to lose.

Ricky lets out a snort, taking the toothpick out of his mouth. “No concern. He won’t win.”

“If you’re so sure of it, if you think it’s going to be so easy, why pick him?”

“He is good, and I do not think it will be easy. I have seen footage of him winning by knockout many times, but it doesn’t matter. This is not his story, it is mine. This is about me proving my worth to the champion, and to all of you. I have my old fire back, and once I take out this younger, fresh, new upstart, you will all see. I’m the hero in this room.”

“ _Bold_.” Harry says out of nowhere, almost not even sure it’s his own voice. He blinks, and suddenly every eye in the room is on him.

It’s quiet for a moment, until Ricky starts to laugh. “Oh? Underdog finally wants to speak up? You haven’t said a single thing since you signed that contract.”

Harry clears his throat, and gives a look over his shoulder at Martin, who nods and gestures for him to go on. “Well, I didn’t have anything to say.”

The same reporter that had just been questioning Ricky, brings her attention to him now, even going so far as to walk to the other side of the table, much to Cortez’s shock. “Is there anything you have to say now, Mr. Styles? What are your thoughts on this fight?”

Harry shrugs, and leans into the mic. “I think…I think this is a dream come true for me, whether Mr. Cortez gives a shit or not. And I’ve been working for this since I was a stupid kid, beating up bullies in my school hallway. I think it’s fucking stupid for someone of Cortez’s experience to underestimate someone like me in the way he does. I think it’s going to be very embarrassing for him when I knock him out in the second round.”

Just then, Ricky stands up so fast, and with so much force, he nearly knocks his side of the tables over. He slams his hand and begins to yell and swear at Harry, the room explodes into loud chatter, and security comes to hold everybody back. Cortez’s people start to hold him back, and Harry is up in a second, shielding Louis behind him as the room falls into chaos. Martin looks almost delighted as he angrily yells to Cortez’s people, and the moderator continues to separate the two groups.

Harry turns around, backing Louis up and grabbing Liam be the arm, getting control of his own group all by himself, while Ricky’s team calms him down. Harry looks down at Louis with a smile, calming any worries Louis might have gotten in the last few moments. “It’s okay, this is a good thing.”

“In what way?” Louis asks, looking over Harry’s shoulder at the other boxer, who is still fuming, still looking directly at Louis.

“First thing Liam taught me is never go into a fight angry. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” Harry kisses Louis on the forehead, and then calmly turns back around, now holding Louis’ hand tightly. He gives a warm look back to Niall, who is caught somewhere between stunned and excited at everything that just happened. “Alright Ni?”

“Are you kidding? This is fucking awesome!” He says, clapping his hands.

Martin comes over to Harry quickly, excitedly out of breath. “Harry, make one last statement, and then that’s all. We have definitely won the press round of the fight.”

With a nod, Harry grabs the microphone off the table, looking directly into Pretty Ricky’s eyes as, with an unwavering voice, he says, “If that’s all you’ve got…then I’ll knock you out in round one.”

The flashing and the chattering starts up one last time from the reporters, and both men are made to stand up and shake hands. Harry puts his hand out immediately, wanting to just get that photo-op done fast, but Ricky takes the time to straighten his jacket out, moving his arms so that his sleeves come up just enough to show off that expensive watch again. He grabs Harry’s hand hard, another way to try and show off his strength, get some sort of rise out of the amateur. Their hands shake, and before Harry can break the hold, Ricky pulls him in roughly, making sure Harry can see how he’s looking right at Louis before he makes one more threat.

“This is my fucking world, newbie. Don’t worry, I’m sure your pretty thing will still want you when I’m done with you.”

Harry’s jaw locks at the mention of Louis. Ricky can talk shit about him all he wants, but mentioning Louis is a whole other game. Harry snatches his hand back, reaching behind to put his hand on Louis’ side, again shielding him from Ricky. No matter what happens, Harry isn’t leaving that fight until Ricky is thoroughly fucked up.

+

@ESPN: @Pretty_Ricky causes scene in pre-match conference, while @HEStyles keeps composure in face of spotlight…

@SportsCenter: Veteran “Pretty” Ricky Cortez issues violent warning to newcomer Harry Styles, who guarantees a knock-out win…

@NBCSports: Harry Styles is all calm and peace during explosive press conference with challenger @Pretty_Ricky. Bets may need to be changed before this match goes off…

@GQ: Style Squad! New Boxing competitor @HEStyles shows off his crew in chic Hugo Boss suits, but it’s his boyfriend who steals the show! Who is Louis Tomlinson…

@PeopleMag: All eyes are on Harry Styles and his gorgeous beaux Louis Tomlinson ahead of Styles’s premier boxing match against former champion Ricky Cortez…

The stories that come out after the press conference are shocking to almost everyone involved. Harry is hailed as an underdog hero, standing up to the washed-up hack that was Pretty Ricky Cortez. Louis is mentioned in almost every single one as Harry’s graceful and beautiful lover. They’re described as uncrowned princes and kings to the crown, and suddenly every bit of support that Cortez had hoped to build for himself, has suddenly gone their way. Martin was also right about the gay aspect of things, because Harry and Louis have also gained attention as LGBT heroes. All of this praise and love and support, and Harry hasn’t even won yet. In fact, it’s almost like even if he loses, he’ll still be the winner.

+

The big fight is part of the openers in a sold out, ten-match event at Madison Square Garden. Harry’s is only the third match on the undercard, and yet it is being just as talked about as the main event. He hasn’t checked on any of the betting stats, but Harry has heard that most people are actually betting in his favor, something that is almost unprecedented for an amateur. Whatever work Martin has been doing in the press has worked wonders, but it also serves to put more pressure on Harry to win this fight.

It’s the night of, and for the first time since all this started, Harry feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He’s pacing back and forth in the assigned dressing room, while Liam tries to give him a pep talk. Niall and Martin are discussing the other fights happening tonight, and picking away at the catering set up. Louis is sitting and watching Harry pace, watching closely at every muscle and micro-expression on his face. So far, Louis has seen Harry’s inner thoughts written on his face go from calm to panic to rage to fear, over and over again.

“You’ve got him shaken up, you have a former Champ questioning his skills and his standing,” Liam says, in a tone that’s almost accusatory. He’s drilling into Harry a sense of confidence and rage, hoping to fuel him and give him strength in the fight.

Harry is nodding his head, eyes burning holes into the ground as he listens and takes Liam’s words in. Louis had tied his hair in duel French braids earlier, and painted blue and green onto his nails. A shiny silk, blue and green robe covers his body for now, and it sways with every movement of Harry’s body. He’s wearing white shorts with blue and green stripes down the sides, a very 70’s vibe to them. Of course, it was Martin who picked the color theme, saying something it being the essence of _them_ —Harry and Louis. Harry does look like a proper professional like this, though.

Louis is holding Harry’s gloves in his hands, the same worn out pair that Harry has been using for years. There’s probably blood ingrained in the seams, and maybe that fact should gross Louis out, but he doesn’t care. As long as it’s not Harry’s blood, then Louis is okay.

He can’t imagine what this guy will do to Harry. Everyone on Earth may want Harry to win, and may even believe he will win, but it does nothing to calm Louis’ nerves. Everything they’ve ever wanted rides on this night, but above that, Harry’s health is on the line. Ricky needs this win, maybe even more than they do, and that means the fight could get brutal. Louis looks up at Harry’s face again, at how perfect he looks, with a lack of bruises and cuts for the first time in a long time. At the end of this night, that won’t be the case anymore. Having dealt with Harry’s various injuries for years, Louis has learned to live with most of it, but he knows tonight will most likely be the worst. After the press conference, Louis became sure this would be one of those fights where they try to really kill each other.

He puts the gloves to the side and stands up, grabbing Harry by his wrist. “Sorry Liam, I just need to say something to Harry.”

“Yeah, of course,” Liam says, dropping his tough-love coach mode, and joining Niall and Martin across the room.

“Everything okay?” Harry asks, taking Louis’ hands in his.

Louis bites his lips at first, slowly shaking his head. “I know you don’t need to hear this, but I’m scared.”

A long sigh leaves Harry’s lips, and he backs up until he’s the one sitting down. “Baby, it’s going to be okay.”

“I know you think so, but come on! This guy really seems unhinged. He literally tried to attack you in front of all those reporters!” Louis exclaims. He takes a few deep breaths, then places his hands on Harry’s cheeks, rubbing against the bones and soft skin. “I just…I don’t want anything to happen to this gorgeous face.”

Harry smiles softly. “ _Baby_ , this gorgeous face always gets fucked up during a fight.”

“Okay, how about this? I don’t want you to _die_ ,” Louis says, voice shaking.

Harry’s smile disappears and is replaced by a solemn frown. “Louis.”

“I’m sorry!” Louis bursts out, nearly in tears. “You don’t need this right now, I-I know, I’m sorry—”

“Lou, it’s okay, it’s good you’re telling me. Please calm down,” Harry says, trying his best to sooth Louis’ nerves. He’s pulling Louis down onto his lap while he continues to whisper assurances. “I’ll be okay. I’ve trained for this and I am ready. Please Baby, don’t worry about me. _We’ll_ be okay.”

Louis closes his eyes and his body shakes as he tries to calm down. “How can you be so sure?”

“Come on, Honey, it’s me. I don’t lose easy,” Harry says. The confidence in his voice is what does get Louis to relax a little. It’s almost funny how just a couple months ago, it was Louis who was doing the reassuring and comforting. The roles have switched entirely now that it’s something professional, because everything is so much more real. Before, and Harry knows this, Louis saw this as a means of making money, and an incomplete journey in Harrys life. Now that the journey to the pros can finally be done, and new one can start, it’s scary. Now they actually have something to lose. “It’s just one fight Louis, one like all the rest.”

Louis sniffles, burying his face in Harry’s neck. It’s not a fight like all the rest, but Louis decides he has to stop with all the negativity, if only for Harry’s sake. “You’re right. I just, um, maybe I need to take a quick walk, get some fresh air.”

Harry’s hands rub down Louis’ sides, and he pouts. “I don’t want you to leave me now.”

“I’ll be right back, I just need a moment to breathe,” Louis says, wiping away any wetness from his eyes. “You just keep warming up with Liam.”

“Maybe Niall or Martin should go with you.”

“No, _really_ , I’ll be okay,” Louis assures him with a kiss to his nose. “Liam? You can have him back.”

As Louis climbs off his lap, and Liam comes over to put a hand on his shoulder, Harry can’t find it in himself to let go. His hands linger on Louis’ sides, before finally rolling back to his hands. “Take as much time as you need, but please be back in time to wrap my hands. Only you do it right.”

“I will, thank you Harry,” Louis says, giving Harry one more kiss before exiting the room.

When the door closes, Louis takes a moment to lean against it, staring at the match poster across the hall. The hallway is crowded with various agents, family, and backstage workers, who all eye Louis’ pass around his neck. He supposes he does look out of place in these surroundings, with his perfectly mascaraed eyelashes and shiny lips. He catches a few people checking out his exposed stomach under the shirt he cut into a crop top. Some of the looks he gets are very familiar, a look of interested lust, most recently given to him by Harry’s competitor. It’s only just now dawning on Louis that Cortez was checking him out at the press conference.

There’s a monitor at the end of the hall showing that very press conference, and Louis finds himself walking to it. He watches it again, not even listening to the trash talk, but instead only focusing on Ricky’s eyes. Louis’ suspicion is confirmed several times, as he watches Ricky give him that oh-so familiar look a few times. Louis scoffs in disgust, fully ready to watch Harry punch this guy in the face.

That is, until Louis turns around, and comes face to face with the real man.

He’s standing in the middle of his posse, red and black robe and gloves on, as they get ready to walk out to a different warm-up area. With a quick look to his right, Louis sees the name “Ricky Cortez” on the door to a locker room, and realizes he’s walked right into enemy territory. He looks back at the man and their eyes meet, with Cortez giving Louis that look again, but this time Louis’ holds in his disgust. The man looks even more imposing this close and in his gear, and some fear returns to Louis’ body.

One time, when Harry and Louis were twenty years old, they went to a club for the first time, and a man did nothing more than smile at Louis, and Harry turned into a territorial brute. He’d put his arms around Louis and glared at the man until he went away, and then wouldn’t leave Louis’ side all night. They had really great sex, sure, but that was the night Louis realized just how jealous Harry could be. If Harry saw the look Ricky was giving Louis right now, he’d probably kill him.

The look quickly turns into a smile, followed by a quick up and down from his eyes. He’s still checking Louis out. “You lost, Sweetheart?”

Louis scrunches up his nose, and Ricky laughs at him and tries to reach out and touch Louis, but he backs away. “I’m just fine, thanks.”

“You’re Styles’s boy, right?” Ricky asks, still smirking, but he lowers his hand.

Louis swallows a lump, doing his best to keep his expression neutral and tight. “Yes. I am.”

“You take good care of him after this fight, he’s gonna need it.” Ricky says with a menacing smirk.

Louis’s face falls into a frown, and he backs away from Ricky some more. If Harry was out here, Ricky would already be bloody and face down on the ground, and hopefully that’s what Louis will see in the ring in just a few short minutes. He stays silent, while Ricky and his crew turn to continue making their way down the hall, and once they’re out of sight, all of the air Louis was holding in is released from his body. He starts to shake, as if he wasn’t nervous enough before this encounter. Maybe he should just run back into the dressing room right now and tell Harry what happened, let him use it to amp himself up for the fight. That could backfire, however, and Harry could lose all focus in the fight, and lose just from his anger clouding any strategy he may have.

He stays frozen against the wall under the television for a little while, as another match ends, thinking about what he should do. Reluctantly, Louis decides he won’t tell Harry what just happened, and let the night continue as Liam has planned. As he walks back to the dressing room, Louis takes a few moments to pause and gain his composure, but he feels icky and violet just from Ricky’s eyes being on him. He’s going to need several showers to get over that.

When he opens the door, Harry is up with the tape in his hands, only partially wrapped around one of his wrists. He looks up at Louis with a bright, excited smile, and Louis is very sure he can’t tell Harry what happened in the hall. “Baby, great timing, you gotta get this shit on for me.”

“Of course,” Louis says, smile tight. He takes the tape from Harry’s hands and wraps it around his wrists, over the palms of his hands, and then a few of his fingers, and helps Harry get his gloves on. Liam hands him a sharpie, and Louis writes a very small heart with his initials on Harry’s left wrist. Another little tradition of theirs. Louis’ own hands move up Harry’s muscular arms, over his shoulders where he straightens out the hems of the silk robe, and onto his chest. He picks up the dangling cross necklace that Harry always wears. Neither of them are religious, but Harry thinks of it as a good luck charm. Louis leans in and gives it a little kiss, wrapping his arms around Harry’s neck after. “You’ve got this.”

“That’s what I’ve been telling you, Love,” Harry assures him once more. He crosses his arms behind Louis’ back, and buries his face into Louis’ neck, sniffing his sweet skin. “Is that the vanilla lotion?”

“Yeah, do you like it?” Louis asks, tugging lightly on Harry’s braids.

“Of course, Baby,” Harry mumbles. As he continues to kiss Louis’ neck, they are joined in the locker room by Liam’s assistant trainer and their personal medic. Harry looks up, and slowly pulls himself away from Louis’ warm body. “Is it time?”

The medic nods his head, and Martin takes the lead, grabbing Liam and Niall to allow Louis and Harry to leave the room last. “Okay, the cameras are right outside, so the rest of us will go out, and then you two walk through us to walk out to the ring. Wait for your music to start before we start the procession.”

“Oh, yeah Martin what music did you pick anyway?” Harry asks, throwing an arm around Louis’ shoulders.

Martin gives him a broad smile, a mischievous glint in his eyes, “Don’t worry, I think you’ll like it very much.”

Harry and Louis share held-in smiles to each other, and almost laugh when said music hits. It’s Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody”, but instead of starting at the slow beginning, it’s right before the opera section. Louis starts to hum along as they walk ahead of the group, and wraps his arm around Harry’s waist. He isn’t sure if it’s a good idea to be so affectionate in front of this crowd, no matter what Martin instructs them to do, but he can’t find it in him to let go of his man. He would stand in that ring and hold Harry’s hand the entire time if he could.

There is a resounding and surprising cheer coming from the crowd as their group enters, and blinding snaps from various camera lights. Both men wince once they enter the center of the Garden, and Harry’s eyes go wide when he sees the ring. Right in the center of a sold-out MSG is the stage of his future, if he can win this fight and set it. Agents and event coordinators escort them into the ring, where Cortez, his group, and the ref are already waiting.

When they get to the center of the ring, Harry presses a quick kiss to Louis’ forehead, and Louis slips behind him to take the robe off. Harry keeps his eyes firmly on Cortez, and he gets a weird knot in his stomach when he catches Cortez’s eyes glance to Louis. Harry tampers the feeling down, though, because he can’t think about anything to do with this guy other than out boxing him in each round.

The ring announcer and referee stand between the two men, and the audience quiets down for just a few moments while the announcements begin. “Ladies and Gentleman, once again live from Madison Square Garden, it is my honor to introduce our next match-up. First, fighting out of the red corner, wearing red trimmed with white, hailing from San Jose, California, he is the former Middleweight Champion, “Pretty” Ricky Cortez!”

Cortez pushes forward, jumping up and raising his hands while a little more than half the crowd cheers loud and long. He steps back again, smiling wickedly at Harry, as though to say, “ _They know I’m the winner here_.” It doesn’t bother Harry, Ricky can think whatever he wants, and be as cocky as he wants. All that matters to Harry, is that he is the one who takes control of the fight.

“And the challenger, fighting out of the white corner, wearing the green trimmed with blue, hailing from New York City, in his debut fight, Harry Styles!”

Harry steps forward, struck by the cheers, and also the boos, he receives from his home crowd. He’s sure if he’d made this debut in any other city, there would be only boos, but he will take what he can get. The goal tonight is to have a win so good, even Ricky’s own family would cheer for him.

He steps back again, and the ref comes forward to go through the rules once again. He listens, but continues his stare down with Cortez. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Louis, Niall, and Martin being escorted to their front row seats, as Liam, the assistant, and their medic, take their place out of the ring in his corner. This is it, once their gloves touch, and that bell rings, everything Harry has ever worked for and wanted, must be delivered. He closes his eyes and nods his head to the ref’s words, taking a deep breath that he holds in until their final instruction.

As soon as he feels Ricky’s gloves touch his, Harry’s eyes snap open, he lets out the air, and backs up several feet. The fight has begun.

They start a slow circle around each other, with Harry steadily pacing around the ring, and Cortez jumping and trying to fake him out. Harry never liked using all the showboating in a fight, preferring instead to just read his opponent and take any opening they give him to strike.

His first opportunity with Ricky comes when Ricky tries another playful fake out, moving his left arm like he’s going to hit. Before he can back away from the fake, Harry gets two quick, but hard, body shots to his ribs in, then bounces out of the way. It obviously pisses Cortez off that it was Harry who got the first two hits, and he takes a long swing with his right, but misses by a long shot, and Harry takes the next chance to get two more punches onto his ribs, and one into his face. This time, it’s Ricky who backs away, and Harry misses a follow-up swing with his left hand.

The first round bell rings, ending without Cortez getting anything in.

They go back to their corners, and Liam is quick to jump in the ring to give Harry his quick notes. “Great first round, but now you’ve got him angry, so you can bet he’s going to come after you even harder. Keep taking advantage of his dumbass mistakes, though, and you’ve got this.”

“Yeah, yeah…I missed that last one, though,” Harry says quickly, before water is poured into his mouth.

“It’s just jitters, you’ll get it this round.”

The bell rings and the second round begins with a more aggressive Cortez running Harry into the ropes and sending as many punches to both of Harry’s sides as he can, no strategy in if they actually land or not. Harry brings his arms up to shield, but when it doesn’t work, he makes a move to wrap his arms around Cortez, forcing the ref to come break them up. Once Harry has his composure back, he lets Cortez start to circle around him again, and once he sees Ricky’s side open up, Harry hits him with three quick jabs. He spends the last couple seconds of the round in a pacing stand-off with Cortez, who has a disbelieving frown.

When this round ends, Harry takes a moment to give Ricky a cocky smile, and then goes back to his corner, where Liam pulls him down onto the stool.

“Okay that was what I was saying after round one.”

“He’s got too much pride.”

“Yeah, and men get stupid when it comes to their pride, but they also get mean. So maybe just keep him stupid and on the defense.”

“I must have damaged his ribs by now.”

“Probably, but you know it’ll take all 12 rounds to take him out just from body shots. Maybe try and hit his stupid face a couple more times.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that, Darling.”

“Don’t sass me. Get back out there.”

The next few rounds go about the same, with both men getting an even amount of hits in, and heavy damage to both their bodies. Harry does get those face shots in, and by the seventh round, Cortez is bleeding from above his left eye. Unfortunately, it goes downhill fast, and Harry also takes a nasty punch to his face, and his nose is bleeding as well.

Cortez takes the chance to try to smack talk Harry, calling him a joke and other very homophobic things. The comments only serve to make Harry lose focus, and he lets his guard down for another hard punch to his cheek. He stumbles away from anything else Cortez may throw at him, and just barely manages to not fall to the ground.

As soon as Louis saw Harry take that shot to the face, he finally had to look away. They’re pretty evenly matched, but Louis’ nerves are getting the better of him. He just knows Harry’s nose is broken and he could possibly have a concussion. Their first big fight, and Harry might already have a bad head injury. Louis grabs Niall’s hand and squeezes tight, not at all calmed by Niall gently rubbing his arm.

“He’s gonna come back, Lou, you just watch him.”

Louis just nods his head, but keeps his eyes cast down, as the eighth round comes to an end. He looks up and sees Liam talking to Harry again, both of them looking frustrated and worked up. He can see the fear in Harry’s eyes, and feel the weight of the world that he’s carrying on his shoulders. Louis knows Harry has to go through the fight alone, but he’s just about had it with watching his man get beat.

Liam pours water over Harry’s face this time, cleaning up the last of the blood dripping from his nose. “It’s okay, there’s still three rounds left, and you can get ahead of him.”

“I don’t know, fuck I don’t know if I can do this,” Harry grunts, coughing up a lung as he chokes on a mixture of blood and water that gets into his mouth. “How’s Louis doing?”

Liam takes a glance over to the stands, and sees Louis looking at the floor. “He’s fine.”

“You’re lying. Shit, I don’t want him to see me like this,” Harry says ashamedly. He can’t believe how quickly he lost control of this fight, and that he has to embarrass himself in front of Louis like this. “Fuck, what do I do if I lose?”

“Don’t think like that, Haz,” Liam urges, tossing the blood-soaked towel away. “Get your hands up and aim high, you’ve weakened his body, and he’s using more powerful face-shots to make up for that. Do as I tell you, and punch that motherfucker in the face!”

Harry nods, albeit without much confidence left, and pushes himself up from the stool, lumbering into the ninth round, struggling to shield both his face and his sides.

As this round goes, Louis decides he can’t stand it anymore. Harry needs something in his head to get his edge back, and Louis has the perfect thought to make that happen. Even if he has to overexaggerate a little, Louis always knows what will make Harry angry enough to destroy a man in a second. He takes a leap of faith, and yells over to Liam as loud as he can over the ruckus audience. “Li! Get over here, right now!”

Liam looks over his shoulder, with a distressed expression written across his brow. He start to shake his head, but Louis glares at him, and Liam throws his hands up in defeat. He jogs over to Louis, and leans in to hear what Louis has to say. “Louis it’s not really a good time for me to leave the ring.”

“I don’t care! Harry is getting destroyed up there!”

“He’s doing fine.”

“He can’t just do fine, Liam, he has to win!” Louis practically screams. His heart is racing, so he takes a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. “After this round, just tell Harry that Cortez hit on me in the halls, okay?”

That changes Liam’s entire demeaner. He whips around in a frenzy, looking ready to punch Cortez himself. “He _what?_ ”

“You heard me. When I was in the hallway before this fight, Ricky and his crew started their walk-out and he made some comments to me. Tell Harry that h-he called me some degrading things, and I guarantee he will finish this fight in the next round.”

Liam solemnly nods his head, and goes back to the ring in time for the ninth round to end. He grabs Harry by his braids and yanks him down to repeat what Louis told him. Harry’s jaw locks up, and his eyes snap up to Cortez, who isn’t even paying attention to him at his corner. Liam wasn’t specific, but Harry can imagine all kinds of disgusting words that would come from that scumbag’s mouth. How dare he even think about Louis, even look at _Louis,_ with any sort of disrespect.

“I’m going to kill him.” Harry says darkly, spitting out blood that’s coming from between his teeth.

“You don’t need to kill him, just beat him.”

“You’re right, but I’m going to kill him.”

The bell for round ten rings, and Harry stands up slowly. He has the same calm demeaner that he started with in round one, and it shakes Ricky up a bit. Cortez comes up, and staggers back when Harry squares up, nothing but stone-cold hatred in his eyes. As a last ditch effort to throw Harry’s confidence off again, Cortez swings with his right hand, and Harry dodges it, sending several quick jabs to Ricky’s already sore ribs. Before Cortez can make any sort of recovering, Harry stiffly hits up on the jaw with a swift uppercut, knocking Ricky to the ground.

Harry backs up two steps and watches as Cortez rolls over on the ground, eyes glassy and mouth hanging open. He’s almost deaf to the insane volume of the cheers from the audience, who almost can’t believe what they’ve just seen. A complete rookie has knocked out the former Middleweight Champion. The only thing Harry hears is the sound of the ref counting to ten, and Ricky’s wails of pain as he tries and fails to stand up before the round ends.

Then he hears the bell ring, and the fight ends.


End file.
